Indian ice-cream business Dinshaw’s Dairy Foods is reportedly in talks to sell up to Bain Capital, a major US private-equity firm.

Bain Capital is in discussions to buy Dinshaw’s in a deal that could value the Nagpur-based ice-cream supplier at INR8-9bn (US$111.3-125.2m), business publication Live Mint reported before Christmas, citing two unnamed sources.

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Dinshaw’s, set up in 1932, is co-owned by the Rana and Bapuna families. The Bapuna family became a shareholder in Dinshaw’s in 2002 when the Rana family merged the ice-cream business with the Bapuna’s distillery company.

Based in Nagpur in central India, Dinshaw’s products are available in more than 6,000 outlets in 13 states. The company’s portfolio also includes other dairy items such as ghee, as well as packaged bakery products.

Bain Capital had not returned a request for comment at the time of writing. Officials at Dinshaw’s could not be reached out of office hours for comment.

According to research from just-food parent GlobalData, the value of India’s ice cream sector is expected to grow from INR121.4bn in 2018 to INR213.6bn by 2023, at a CAGR of 12%.

In volume terms, the sector is expected to grow from 557.3 million kg in 2018 to 834.8 million kg by 2023, registering a CAGR of 8.4%.

Per capita consumption of ice cream in India stood at 0.4kg in 2018 and is expected to reach 0.6kg by 2023, GlobalData forecasts.

GlobalData lists India’s Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), Unilever and US-based business Wells Enterprises as the three companies in the Indian ice cream sector. GCMMF had a market share by value of 24.5% in 2018, while Unilever and Wells held shares of 16.3% and 12.8% respectively.

By individual brand, GCMMF’s Amul topped the list with a market share of 24.5% in 2018, with Wells’ Vadilal second at 12.8%, the data shows. The Dinshaw’s brand had a market share of 0.5% in 2018, GlobalData says.