Elior Group Moves into India
Elior Group, one of world’s leading operators in the contracted food industry, has entered the Indian market with the simultaneous acquisitions of MegaBite Food Services and CRCL, two leading contract caterers for the business and industry market. The new subsidiary, Elior India, will serve 135,000 meals per day with over 3,500 employees.
“This move in India allows us to expand into emerging markets, which is one of the objectives of our 2016-2020 strategic plan,” says Philippe Salle, chairman and chief executive of Elior Group. “We believe India is one of the most promising markets with significant growth potential and a very fragmented profile. The combined acquisitions of MegaBite and CRCL will position the group among the top three contract caterers in the Indian market.”
MegaBite Food Services is the top player in premium corporate catering in Bangalore. It was founded in 2005 by three ex-hoteliers. MegaBite employs more than 850 people. It operates a central kitchen in Bangalore and provides 28,000 meals each day in Bangalore and 1,800 meals daily in Mumbai. Its customers include Cisco, Microsoft, Google, McKinsey and Shell. MegaBite has been wholly acquired by Elior Group.
Based in Chennai, CRCL is the largest industrial catering company in South India. With over 33 years of experience in the contract catering business, CRCL is the fourth largest catering company in India. CRCL employs upwards of 2,650 people over multiple sites and serves over 100,000 meals each day. Its customer list includes prestigious names like Daimler, Pfizer, MRF and Vellore Institute of Technology. Elior Group has acquired a majority stake in CRCL.
Philippe Salle adds: “We are convinced that food offering is a critical employee value proposition in an increasingly competitive and changing work space. The awareness is still nascent in India and we believe that we are in the right place at the right time with the right partnerships. Both MegaBite and CRCL are premium top contract catering companies whose values are aligned with those of Elior Group.”
The transaction is expected to close within the next 90 days, subject to customary closing conditions.
