The investment will be made through both primary infusion and secondary purchase from early-stage investors, the Indian Angel Network and Lighthouse Funds
New Delhi: Wow! Momo Foods, the operator of Wow! Momo, Wow! China and Wow! Chicken has raised over Rs 350 crore from Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the sovereign wealth fund of Malaysia, as per a press release shared on Tuesday.
The investment will be made through both primary infusion and secondary purchase from early-stage investors, the Indian Angel Network and Lighthouse Funds, the release said.
Commenting on the development, Sagar Daryani, chief executive officer and co-founder, Wow! Momo Foods said, “There is no greater joy for a founder than giving its initial investors – Indian Angel Network and Lighthouse Funds – great partial exits. With Khazanah’s investment into the business and their long-term approach, we will strive to become the powerhouse of innovation and transformation in the food space while keeping a strong balance between sustainability, growth, and backing breakthroughs.”
The primary fund will fuel the growth and expansion of the brand and help to strengthen the distribution foothold and research and development (R&D) for the FMCG arm.
“We are excited to be on the journey with Wow! Momo in their mission to build the largest QSR brand in India. We aim to encourage the growth of Wow! Momo through enhanced scalability, technological fortification, and focusing on building a strong back-end capability to support its growth,” said Dato’ Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir, managing director, Khazanah.
Additionally, the company’s existing investor, OAKS Asset Management, has also infused Rs 60 crore of funding into Wow! Momo Foods.
Launched in August 2008, Wow! Momo Foods is a multi-billion-rupee quick service restaurant (QSR) chain with more than 630 outlets in over 35 cities. It has a robust expansion plan of over 200 outlets in the coming fiscal year and steadfast growth of its FMCG business.
Khazanah is the sovereign wealth fund of Malaysia. It invests globally across 5 regional offices and maintains a positive outlook on India. Its recent investments in the country include Xpressbees, Flipkart, TransUnion CIBIL, among others.