Grupo Alife Nino – which earns almost R$500 million per year with restaurants and bars such as Nino Cucina, Boteco Boa Praça and Tatu Bola – has just announced the purchase of Grupo Irajá, expanding its footprint in the Rio market.
The deal involved cash and share exchange, but the value was not disclosed. Irajá’s partners – Pedro de Artagão, Gustavo Mariath and Marcos Werneck – will remain in the group.
The Irajá Group has 12 bars and restaurants (almost all in Rio de Janeiro), such as Irajá Redux and Boteco Rainha, and had revenues of R$80 million in 2023.
The purchase will help Alife Nino achieve revenue of R$700 million this year, an increase of 45% compared to 2023, CEO Alessandro Ávila told Brazil Journal.
In terms of number of stores, the group should increase from the current 60 (already including Irajá) to 87, spread across 19 cities in four of the five regions of Brazil.
According to Ávila, Grupo Irajá is exactly the type of company that Alife Nino is looking for: a company with solidity, net margin above 15% and ROIC between 20% and 30%.
“We are going after the best. These are levers and indicators that we always look for, as they are similar to ours,” said the CEO, who foresees a top line of R$1 billion by 2025.
Alife Nino’s plan is to become an “Arezzo of food service,” said chairman Pedro Silveira. To achieve this, in addition to margins, the company needs to offer a differentiated service.
This explains another move by Alife Nino: the group bought a minority stake in Fame Osteria, an exclusive Italian cuisine restaurant located in Jardins – the place has just 16 seats.
In fact, the biggest interest was in award-winning Italian chef Marco Renzetti, owner of Fame. From now on, Renzetti will lead the kitchen at Nino Cucina, which already has five restaurants.
Something similar will happen with one of Irajá’s partners: Pedro de Artagão will take over as head of gastronomy for the bars across the group.
“The main synergy, which is worth more than money, is the gastronomy part: we were able to bring the know-how of these professionals to the other restaurants in the group,” said the CEO.
Alife Nino, which expected an IPO by 2025, preferred to leave its debut on the stock exchange for dessert – the IPO should take place in three years.
But later this year, the company should announce another private equity raise, according to executives; in 2021, XP wrote a check for R$100 million.
André Jankavski