Papa John's Accelerates International Growth in India via Pizza Corner

Om Pizza & Eats Pvt Ltd Merges Global Franchise Architects's, Pizza Corner stores. Om Pizza & Eats Pvt Ltd, the Indian franchisee of Papa John’s International has merged with Fred Mouawad’s pizza business of Global Franchise Architects operating under the Pizza Corner brand. Om Pizza & Eats Pvt Ltd is owned by Avan Projects Pvt Ltd, promoted by Atulya Mittal. TVS Capital and the Jawad group of Bahrain hold a minority stake in Om Pizza.

Papa John’s today announced that they have entered into an agreement for the merger of Pizza Corner stores in South India. Papa John’s will convert the existing Pizza Corner stores to Papa John’s branded restaurants through Q1 2015. This expansion and consolidation journey has the right synergies to speed up Om Pizza & Eat's and Avan's growth in the organized QSR Indian market. The announcement reinforces Papa John’s commitment to expand its presence in India, specifically in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.

This unification move also emphasizes GFA’s commitment to expand its business. Last year GFA announced an aggressive expansion drive under which it planned to open a total of 40 stores across all its brands. Having crossed the 100 store number in India this year, GFA share holders decided to pump in fresh investment to support its expansion initiatives last year.

By virtue of the acquisition, Pizza Corner operations shall be merged with Om Pizza & Eats. Pizza Corner has a strong foothold in the southern region operating around 70 outlets. The combination of the two brands will reposition Papa John’s as a leader with a great portfolio. The strength of Pizza Corner in South India will allow Papa John’s to capture opportunities in this attractive market. Pizza Corner, part of the GFA brands, is the third largest pizza chain in Southern India. Papa John’s currently has fifteen operating restaurants across India. This deal allows Papa John’s greater penetration in the 3 leading southern cities of Bangalore, Hyderabad & Chennai. The cluster of stores across the 3 cities at strategically important locations which provides good economies of scale, lower logistics costs, a good brand recall and trained and experienced team. Post merger, Pizza Corner stores shall be rebranded as Papa John’s outlets.

The merger of Pizza Corner business further strengthens Om Pizza & Eats focus on growing the chain to a large national footprint in the Rs 2,300 cr pizza market. The QSR segment in India is a $2.5 Billion industry and growing at rate of approximately 25 percent; it’s the fastest growing segment within the food industry. There is tremendous growth opportunity with the Pizza segment. QSR accounts for 43 percent of the overall Food Services business in India. Papa John’s through this conversion will reinforce the quality commitment of Better Ingredients Better Pizza.

“We are energized about this accelerated International expansion for Papa John’s in Southern India.” said John Schnatter, Founder and CEO of Papa John’s. “The merger provides us the opportunity to penetrate the market at a much more rapid pace, and increase our scale in a shorter period.”

Joseph Cherian, CEO of GFA Global said “The Indian fast-food market is valued at $50 billion from Rs$35 billion last year according to a latest ASSOCHAM survey. This consolidation is a unique opportunity for Papa John’s to take a major pie in the market share in the Indian pizza segment. Owing to a majority of younger population under 30 with a liking for international food gives us the right opportunity to address the need gap for true international brands. Through this merger with a leading brand such as Papa John’s, we have a phenomenal opportunity to meet growing demands by combining Papa John’s world class pedigree with Pizza Corner’s local expertise. We are confident that both the brands can complement each other and implement their expertise.”

Atulya Mittal, Director - Avan Projects said "At Avan we are very excited that within a year of taking over the Papa John's franchise for India we are able to scale up to a much larger store footprint. Apart from the obvious synergies of having more stores, we are most excited that we will now be able to reach more customers to deliver the Papa John's promise of Better Ingredients, Better Pizza. This milestone also marks the addition of a great team that has built a multi unit region focused franchise integrating into our current Om Pizza team. The inclusion of Fred Mouawad into our venture is also exciting because he brings vast experience in entrepreneurship and in building numerous brands. We appreciate the faith that our investors GFA and TVS have placed in us to complete this merger. We are optimistic on the outlook for our investment in Om Pizza.”

He added, “At Avan, we are focused on building businesses the right way to bring better products to the Indian consumer and thereby provide healthy returns to our investors. This transaction is a testament to that. I appreciate the efforts of my colleagues and advisors at Avan to complete this transaction. While we are focused on making the Om Pizza investment a lucrative one, we will continue to scout for more opportunities in the consumption space in India."

GFA, is a subsidiary of Synergia One, a company founded by the very well known multi faced serial entrepreneur and a philanthropist Mr. Fred Mouawad. It has its operations in more than 16 countries. The dynamic CEO, Mr. Joseph Cherian, leads the vision and strategy in India. He will take over as the CEO at Papa John’s India while remaining a key board member at GFA. GFA operations for brands - Cream & Fudge, Coffee World and The Donut Baker will remain in Bangalore and work independently of Papa John’s.