Mumbai, Sept. 21 -- Pune-based Nilon's, which makes pickles, spices and other packaged foods, is exploring a majority stake sale that could value the company at Rs.800-1,200 crore, according to three people familiar with the development. The deal process has been launched, with several strategic and private equity firms tapped to participate, said one of the people cited above. Existing investors are exploring a partial or full stake sale, but the exact terms of the deal have yet to be determined, as discussions are still underway, added the second person. "The company is seeking a valuation of about 2-2.5x its revenue. If the deal materializes, the current thinking is for the founding family to continue overseeing the operations," the third person said, adding that O3 Capital is helping Nilon's find buyers. All the people spoke on the condition of anonymity, as the discussions are still private. Mint's queries emailed to Nilon's and O3 Capital remained unanswered. The founding family holds close to a 20% stake in the company, while the rest is held by the funds, enterprises, and other angel investors, including BanyanTree Capital, Spark Midas Investment Fund, and London-based entrepreneur Kirit Pathak, among others. Founded in 1962 by Suresh Sanghavi, Nilon's India has grown into one of the country's fastest-growing processed food companies, offering an extensive range of high-quality products. It is currently led by Dipak Sanghavi, who has steered the company's journey from Rs.8 crore to more than Rs.450 crore within a decade and a half, according to the company's website. Nilon's, which began as a pickle company, has transformed into a food solution company with products such as cooking pastes, Chinese range, ready-to-cook mixes, pastas, instant mixes, jams, ketchup and sauces, Sewaiyan, chutney and breakfast cereals. Its brand presence has expanded across 400,000 retail outlets in India with over 13 depots and 3,000 distributors. It currently has manufacturing plants in Maharashtra and the North-East, while its products are also exported globally across markets such as Japan, France, US, South Africa, Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, and Canada. Nilon's Enterprises, the legal entity, posted a nearly flat net profit of about Rs.1.5 crore in FY25, showed data sourced by business intelligence platform Tofler from the ministry of corporate affairs. Nilon's main competitors in the Indian processed food and condiment market are Mother's Recipe (acquired by Desai Brothers Ltd), Priya (part of Ushodaya Enterprises), Pachranga Foods, and Capital Foods. It may also compete with Kissan, Dabur and Cremica across some overlapping segments. India's $100 billion packaged food and beverage market is projected to expand to about $150 billion by 2030, according to estimates from market research firm Redseer, driven by changing consumer values, urban lifestyles, and the rise of quick commerce, converging to fundamentally alter what Indians eat and where they buy it....