Global private equity firms including Apax Funds, Advent International, Warburg Pincus, KKR, Blackstone, and Temasek have joined the race to acquire a majority stake in RedTape, in a transaction that could value the Indian footwear maker at ₹4,500-5,000 crore (about $500 million), according to reports from Mint. The proposed deal marks one of the largest private equity plays in India's branded footwear space, with talks currently at an early stage. The promoters, who hold 71.79% of the company, have mandated EY to advise them on the process, with the consultancy seeking non-binding bids from potential investors.
The Noida-headquartered company's promoters may sell all or a substantial part of their holdings, as reported by Mint. The promoters held 71.79% of the company according to the shareholding pattern on the NSE as of December. KKR and Blackstone have also expressed initial interest in the asset, with earlier reports from Reuters first highlighting the promoters' plan to divest their stake. Earlier this month, Reuters first reported on the promoters' plan to divest their stake, with KKR and Blackstone expressing initial interest in the asset.
RedTape's shares rose 4.05% to close at ₹123.83 on Friday on the National Stock Exchange, compared to the benchmark Nifty 50's fall of 0.39%, as reported by Mint. Over the past year, the company's stock has declined 29.57%. Its market capitalization on Friday was ₹6,845.42 crore. The company's revenue climbed to ₹2,052.93 crore in FY25 from ₹1,855.97 crore in the previous year, while profit narrowed to ₹170 crore from ₹176.24 crore.
The development comes as India's footwear market is expected to more than double in eight years to $47.53 billion from $20.67 billion in 2025, according to a report by the IMARC Group, as reported by Mint. Earlier this month, Neeman's raised ₹35 crore from SNAM Solutions and existing investors including Anicut Capital, Enam Investments and Harsh Mariwala-backed Sharrp Ventures. RARA Barefoot, a D2C footwear startup co-founded by Sachin Tendulkar, raised $500,000 from Peak XV Partners in October 2025. The company operates over 600 stores across India and has a footprint in 17 countries including the UK, US, Australia and the UAE, operating four brands – RedTape, Mode, Ozark and Bond Street.
The business is dependent on heavy discounting, with margins thinning over the years, according to a senior private equity executive cited by Mint. However, given the large demography of India and the huge total addressable market, it makes more sense for global funds looking to take the brand to markets outside India. RedTape competes with Bata India, Metro Brands, Relaxo Footwears, Campus Activewear, as well as Nike and Adidas. The development reflects increasing interest from investors in India's consumer-facing family-owned businesses, with companies including Haldiram, Iscon Balaji, Balaji Wafers, Theobroma and VIP Industries seeing similar moves. Over the past year, companies including Haldiram, Iscon Balaji, Balaji Wafers, Theobroma and VIP Industries have seen similar moves while HyFun Foods and Ratnadeep Retail are in various stages of their fundraising process.
