The Taj group of hotels is finally exiting Taj Birdy's, the confectionery chain jointly promoted by the Tata group and Sanjay Narang's Mars Restaurants.
The Tatas, through Indian Hotels subsidiaries Taj Holdings and Piem Hotels, holds 50 per cent in Taj Birdy's. Mars, besides being a 50 per cent equity holder in the company, also holds the management contract for running the business.
The official spokesperson of Indian Hotels Company said: "We are currently holding negotiations with Mars and the idea is to pull out of the business as well as get the Taj name out of it."
Sanjay Narang confirmed the development saying: "We are buying out the Taj group's 50 per cent stake and from next month onwards the chain will be called Birdy's. "The Taj tag will be dropped from the name.
Narang added that the valuation exercise of the Taj stake is on. However, he refused to divulge further details on the issue.
"We are in discussions currently with some investors to offload part of the additional stake in the company. It could be anything between 26 to 49 per cent," Narang said.
It may be noted that ICICI Ventures already has a 28 per cent stake, which it picked for Rs 20 crore. The deal effectively gives the company a valuation of around Rs 75 crore.
The company is also planning to go for an initial public offering. Narang said: "At an appropriate time the company will come out with a public issue."
Taj Birdy's has 16 outlets throughout Mumbai, and is planning many more in other parts of the country, with Bangalore, Pune, Chennai and Delhi being the next on the launch list.
The Rs 30 crore Mars Restaurants, a chain of speciality restaurant brands include Dosa Diner, Trim with Taste, Rotis, Just Around The Corner, Pizzeria and Not Just Jazz By The Bay.
