Kaveri & Rao Advisory · Mumbai · Chennai

Work · Selected engagements, 2023–2025

What happened, what we did and what it was worth.

On names

Our clients are private families and we keep them that way. Each case is shared with the client’s written permission, with figures they have checked.

ClientPracticeOutcomeLength

A ₹1,800 crore textiles group, Tiruppur

Succession & governance₹210 crore cousin buy-out, funded14 months

A ₹950 crore auto-components maker, Chakan

PE & IPO readiness₹420 crore for a 24% stake18 months

A ₹640 crore spice and staples brand, Indore

Operations & margin₹38 crore cash released9 months

A German industrial-automation group, Chennai GCC

GCC set-up340 engineers in 18 months18 months

Succession & governance · 2023–24

A ₹1,800 crore textiles group in Tiruppur, and fourteen shareholders who had never sat in one room.

Rows of circular knitting machines on a Tiruppur mill floor in daylight
Client
Knitwear exporter, third generation
Revenue
₹1,800 crore, 72% export
People
9,400 across 6 units
Team
1 partner, 2 consultants

Situation

The founder’s two sons had run the group for thirty years on a handshake. Their children, eleven cousins in four cities, now held 58% between them. Three worked in the business. Two wanted to sell. A US buyer had asked who would sign the next five-year supply contract, and nobody could answer.

Approach

We interviewed all fourteen shareholders separately before bringing anyone together. The family constitution took five drafts and set out who may work in the company, how dividends are decided and a formula for anyone who wants out. The board added three independent directors, and we ran the search for the group’s first non-family CEO, a former head of sourcing at a Bengaluru apparel major.

Outcome

The two cousins who wanted to sell were bought out over five years from internal accruals, with no outside debt. The new CEO took over in month twelve. Two years on, EBITDA margin has moved from 9.1% to 11.8%.

Timeline · 14 months

2 moInterviews5 moConstitution4 moBoard and CEO search3 moHand-over
₹210 crcousin buy-out, funded over five years from accruals
3independent directors appointed to a board that had none
11.8%EBITDA margin, up from 9.1% in 24 months

PE & IPO readiness · 2023–24

A ₹950 crore forging company near Pune, made ready for its first outside investor.

CNC machines and stacked crankshaft forgings in a Chakan plant
Client
Crankshafts and forgings for 2W and CV makers
Revenue
₹950 crore
Ownership
Two brothers, second generation
Team
1 partner, 3 consultants

Situation

The brothers wanted capital for a third plant and an EV-component line. Two funds had walked away after first diligence. Forty-seven related-party transactions ran through six family entities, and the accounts had never been prepared under Ind AS.

Approach

We ran our own diligence first, as a buyer would. With the auditors we restated three years of accounts, folded four entities into the listed-ready company and priced the remaining related-party deals at arm’s length. The equity story was built around the EV line, with customer letters to back it.

Outcome

A mid-market fund invested ₹420 crore for a 24% stake. The board now has an audit committee chaired by an independent director, and the company is on track to file a DRHP within three years.

Timeline · 18 months

4 moPre-diligence6 moRestatement3 moData room5 moProcess and close
₹420 crraised for a 24% minority stake
47 → 6related-party transactions, all now at arm’s length
13.5×EV to EBITDA, against 9× offered a year earlier

Operations & margin · 2024–25

A ₹640 crore spice brand in Indore with 1,140 SKUs and money stuck in every one of them.

Stacks of jute sacks in a spice warehouse in Indore
Client
Branded spices and staples
Revenue
₹640 crore, 11 states
Distribution
1,300 distributors
Team
1 partner, 2 consultants

Situation

Sales had grown 34% in three years and profit had not moved. The founder’s son, newly in charge, suspected the range. Working capital stood at 96 days, and the warehouse in Sanwer Road was full of packs that sold a few cases a month.

Approach

We costed every SKU to the shelf, including freight and distributor margin. Four in ten sold fewer than twenty cases a month. We cut the range with the sales team, renegotiated credit terms with the top 200 distributors and set up a weekly cash review that the family chairs.

Outcome

The range came down to 420 SKUs with no loss of distribution. Working capital fell to 61 days, which released ₹38 crore, and EBITDA margin rose 2.4 points in the first full year.

Timeline · 9 months

1.5 moCosting3 moRange3 moWorking capital1.5 moHand-over
₹38 crcash released from working capital
1,140 → 420SKUs, with distribution held
96 → 61working-capital days

GCC set-up · 2024–25

A German automation group’s first India engineering centre, from an empty floor to 340 people.

Engineers at work on a newly opened office floor in Sholinganallur, Chennai
Client
Industrial automation, Baden-Württemberg
Group revenue
€2.1 billion
Centre
Sholinganallur, Chennai 600 119
Team
1 partner, 2 consultants

Situation

Head office needed embedded-software and controls engineers it could not hire in Germany. The board had approved India but not a city, a structure or a budget, and wanted the first team working within a year.

Approach

We compared four cities on the supply of controls and PLC engineers, attrition and commute, and recommended Chennai for its manufacturing base. With legal partners we set up a wholly owned subsidiary under STPI, then ran the search for the centre head and twelve first-line managers before any volume hiring began.

Outcome

The centre opened in month seven with 120 people and reached 340 by month eighteen. Annual running cost is ₹96 crore, 18% under the board’s plan, and first-year attrition was 8.6%.

Timeline · 18 months

3 moCity, entity3 moLeaders5 moFirst 1207 moScale to 340
340engineers hired in 18 months
₹96 crannual running cost, 18% under plan
8.6%attrition in the first year

Every one of these started with a single phone call to a partner.

We take on no more than nine clients at a time. If we cannot start within a month, we will say so.

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