Both these stocks will see a reaction on Friday, January 2, as the announcement was made after market hours on Thursday.
Shareholders of Sapphire will receive 177 shares of Devyani International for every 100 shares they own. You can read more on the deal and its contours here.
Business synergies aside, there is another common factor that connects these two companies - both are very tightly held companies, with a very small retail investor base.
At the end of the September quarter, promoters of Sapphire Foods, which will cease to exist as an entity after the merger, held a 26.07% stake in the company.
Among the near 74% public shareholding, 31.5% stake was held by Mutual Funds, with UTI MF, HDFC MF, Nippon Life India MF, Kotak MF, Mirae MF, Franklin India MF, Sundaram MF, all having stake in the company.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Bajaj Allianz Life, Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Fidelity Funds, Government of Singapore, are some of the other prominent shareholders in the company.
| Fund / Institution | Stake in Sapphire Foods (%) |
| UTI Value Fund | 1.22 |
| HDFC Flexi Cap Fund | 9.61 |
| Nippon India Small Cap | 7.58 |
| Kotak Multi Asset Allocation | 3.36 |
| Mirae Consumption ETF | 2.96 |
| Franklin India Small Cap | 2.1 |
| Sundaram Services Fund | 1.35 |
| ICICI Prudential Life | 1.08 |
| Bajaj Allianz Life | 1.16 |
| Vanguard Fund | 1.04 |
| Monetary Authority of Singapore | 1.09 |
| Abu Dhabi Investment Authority | 1.53 |
| T. Rowe Price | 2.02 |
| Government of Singapore | 7.82 |
| Fidelity Funds | 3.48 |
| Kotak India Midcap Fund | 3.68 |
As of September 30, 2025, Sapphire Foods had less than 50,000 retail shareholders or those with an authorized share capital of up to ₹2 lakh, who held a 3.1% stake in the company. At the time of its listing in November 2021, Sapphire Foods had over 89,000 retail shareholders who had a 3.25% stake in the company.
Same is the case with Devyani International. Promoters of the company had a 61.4% stake at the end of the September quarter.
Out of the near-39% public shareholding, India's Mutual Funds had a 15.94% stake, along with HDFC Life Insurance, whose name also features among the public shareholders.
| Fund / Institution | Stake In Devyani (%) |
| HSBC Flexicap | 1.29 |
| Nippon India NIF | 4.95 |
| Sundaram Midcap | 1.32 |
| Franklin India Flexi Cap | 2.06 |
| HDFC Life Insurance | 1.17 |
2.3 lakh small retail shareholders held only 3.5% stake in the company as of September 30 last year.
Shares of Sapphire Foods are trading 11.9% higher than their split-adjusted IPO price of ₹236 per share, while those of Devyani International have gained 63% from their issue price of ₹90 apiece. Both made their stock market debut in 2021.
