Following the footsteps of Bikaji Foods, country’s renowned brand Haldiram is planning to go public as there are reports that two different entities promoted by Agarwal family have planned to join hands. As per the market reports, Delhi-based Haldiram Snacks and Nagpur-based Haldiram Foods International have initiated the process of merger, seen as an attempt for launching an initial public offering (IPO) in coming days.

The merger is currently underway and bankers have been approached for the same, sources told The Hitavada on Friday. The original Haldiram, founded in 1932 by Ganga Bishan Agarwal, saw four grandsons parting their ways in 1980 to create their separate business entities.

Today, Shiv Kishan Agarwal runs the Nagpur-based Haldiram Snacks which controls the West and South India market while his two brothers Manohar and Madhusudan Agarwal run Delhi-based Haldiram Foods International and dominate the North India market. Together, the family controls nearly 50 per cent of India’s ethnic snacks market.

The fourth brother, Shiv Ratan Agarwal, is leading Bikaji Foods, that has recently launched an IPO. Interestingly, the IPO received a robust response from investors and it received bids for 55.04 crore shares against the IPO size of 2.06 crore shares. The offer was oversubscribed by 26.67 times on November 7, the final day of bidding.

On the other hand, the combined turnover of both the Haldiram entities was Rs 9,000 crore in the fiscal year 2021-22, which is significantly higher as compared to the turnover of Rs 1,600 crore posted by Bikaji Foods during the same period.