The funding is a part of a two-tranche raise, with the second one being planned with another fund where Wow! Momo intends to raise Rs 100 crore.
Oaks Asset Management is a consumer sector-focused mid-market private equity fund that
raised Rs 1,000 crore towards the first close of its second fund in June. Amid a slowdown in late-stage tech funding by venture capitalists such as Tiger Global and SoftBank, private equities and sovereign funds have become more active,
ET reported on September 2.
Launched in August 2008 by Daryani and Binod Homagai, the company operates 480 outlets across 21 cities.
The company said it would use the fresh infusion to fuel the quick service business expansion and strengthen the FMCG arm of Wow! Momo. It will also use the funds to build strong back-end capabilities and increase its presence to enter over 100 cities.
In September 2021, the company raised around $17 million led by Tree Line Investment Management at a valuation of Rs 1,225 crore. Tree Line is a Hong Kong- and Singapore-based investment fund and has been an investor in publicly listed Jubilant FoodWorks and Westlife Development.
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The latter’s subsidiary Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt Ltd holds the master franchisee for the McDonald’s chain in the South and West.
It also raised funds from New York-based Tiger Global Management in 2019.
Since its last round, Wow! Momo has expanded its portfolio of two brands Wow! Momo and Wow! China, and added Wow! Chicken, a QSR brand aiming to Indianise fried and grilled chicken. The company plans to take this brand across all major metros and tier-1 and tier-2 cities over the next 24 months.
The company said that its ready-to-eat offering has undergone a refresh and is expected to be available across all leading grocery chains and ecommerce platforms in the coming quarter.
“You only grow when the ecosystem around you grows; even in such riotous times, good profitable, sustainable and scalable business models will always find the right backing and that is the faith with which we started our first outlet in 2008,” Daryani said.
