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Devyani International | Yum! operations to be unified through the merger with Sapphire

2026.03.26

Article summary

Devyani International is a listed QSR company under RJ Corp and one of India's largest franchisees for Yum! Brands' KFC and Pizza Hut and for Costa Coffee. Its Chairman is Ravi Jaipuria. Consolidated revenue for FY2026 (fiscal year ended March 2026) was ₹5,611 crore (1 crore = 10 million rupees), with a net loss of ₹42.5 crore and 2,256 stores at the end of March 2026 (a net increase of 217 stores over 12 months). In January 2026 it announced a merger with peer Sapphire Foods (177 Devyani shares for every 100 Sapphire shares, a deal of about 930 million dollars at the share price when it was announced), and it obtained exchange approval in June. After the combination, the total across all brands exceeds 3,000 stores. Pizza Hut has been weak, and no net increase in openings is planned for 2026.

This article is based on what we could verify As of September 19, 2026 This page is based on the disclosures and news reports from each company that we were able to confirm as of that date. Amounts in the text follow the notation commonly used in India, with ₹1 crore = 10 million rupees, and yen figures are approximations calculated at a little over 1.7 yen to the rupee. Store counts, funding raised, and results at Indian companies change over short periods, so when making a business decision, please check the latest information in primary sources such as each company's own announcements.

Devyani International is one of India's largest franchisees for Yum! Brands' KFC and Pizza Hut and for Costa Coffee. In January 2026 it announced a merger with peer Sapphire Foods, and if it goes through, the operation of Yum! brands in India will be all but unified.

Company profile

Item	Details
Year founded	1991
Headquarters	Gurugram (Haryana)
Chairman	Ravi Jaipuria (RJ Corp)
Revenue	₹5,611 crore (FY2026 = fiscal year ended March 2026, consolidated, approx. 98 billion yen)
Net profit or loss	Net loss of ₹42.5 crore (FY2026)
Number of stores	2,256 stores (end of March 2026. A net increase of 217 stores over 12 months)
Employees	About 40,000 people
Listing	Listed on the BSE and NSE
Main brands	KFC, Pizza Hut, Costa Coffee, Biryani By Kilo, Vaango, Goila Butter Chicken

Building scale through a merger with a peer

In January 2026 it announced a merger with Sapphire Foods, a listed company that is also a Yum! Brands franchisee. It is a share swap allotting 177 Devyani shares for every 100 Sapphire shares, reported at about 930 million dollars based on the share price when it was announced. Exchange approval came in June 2026, and some of the terms were revised in August.

After the combination, the store count across both companies' brands and regions exceeds 3,000. Two franchisees becoming one reflects a judgment that neither procurement nor logistics pays off without scale. QSR in India has a low spend per customer and thin profit per store. Some costs can only be absorbed through store numbers.

Results are split between the brands

FY2026 brought consolidated revenue of ₹5,611 crore and a net loss of ₹42.5 crore. The store count stood at 2,256 at the end of March 2026, a net increase of 217 over 12 months, but the makeup differs by brand. Pizza Hut has been weak, and the company says it does not plan a net increase in openings during 2026 (calendar year).

KFC is centered on chicken, which suits Indian eating habits. Pizza Hut has a harder time against Domino's in the same pizza category, and keeping dine-in service while Domino's specializes in delivery weighs on it. Even for several brands held by the same company, results diverge depending on whether the product mix fits the market.

Parent company RJ Corp also holds Varun Beverages, a PepsiCo bottler. The structure lets even the drinks served inside the restaurants run through the same ownership group.

Points for Japanese companies

For anyone looking for a partner to entrust a restaurant chain to in India, Devyani has both scale and a track record. On the other hand, it already carries KFC, Pizza Hut, and Costa Coffee, so the people and money it can devote to a new brand are limited.

Integrating the organizations will also take effort until the merger is complete. Anyone considering Devyani as a partner should keep an eye on when the post-merger structure settles.