New Delhi, Oct 31 — The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the merger of Sapphire Foods India Limited with and into Devyani International Limited, along with certain related transactions, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) said in a release issued on Saturday, October 31.

Source: PIB via Technology For You

The proposed combination envisages the merger of Sapphire Foods (Sapphire) with and into Devyani International (Devyani) and certain related transactions, the CCI said. Live Law reported that the approval was given on Friday and that the Commission stated a detailed order would follow.

Source: Live Law Biz

Devyani, among other businesses, operates KFC and Pizza Hut franchise outlets across India. It is also the exclusive franchisee of Costa Coffee, New York Fries and Sanook Kitchen in India, and in addition owns and operates homegrown brands, according to the PIB release.

Sapphire Foods also operates KFC and Pizza Hut franchise outlets in India, so the approval brings the country's two large operators of the same global quick-service restaurant brands under one proposed combined entity.

The Sapphire-Devyani clearance was one of five major transactions the CCI approved in releases issued on Saturday, spanning food services, renewable energy, power infrastructure, financial services and telecommunications, ANI reported via NewKerala. Reports on the combined approvals said the restaurant merger, announced earlier this year, is expected to create a business operating more than 3,000 stores globally with an annualised turnover of approximately Rs 8,000 crore.

Source: ANI via NewKerala

The approvals are regulatory milestones for the proposed transactions, which remain subject to applicable closing conditions and other requirements before completion, the reports said.