Mumbai / New Delhi —
Indian banking titan Uday Kotak’s family office, USK Capital, has executed its first overseas direct acquisition, buying a majority stake in the U.S. healthy snack brand Go Raw through one of its operating entities. The deal, disclosed this month, marks USK Capital’s inaugural foreign investment and significantly expands the office’s footprint into the booming U.S. consumer sector.
Where Capital Moved
Kotak’s family office — a vehicle for the wealth of India’s fifth-richest billionaire — purchased a controlling interest in Freeland Foods LLC, the maker of the Go Raw brand, signalling a deliberate move from traditional Indian markets into West-coast consumer staples. Financial terms were not publicly disclosed, suggesting a private, negotiated transaction rather than a market-priced takeover.
Why It Matters
This transaction represents a strategic shift for USK Capital, traditionally focused on domestic financial services and fixed-income holdings. By taking majority control of a U.S. retail brand aligned with global health and wellness growth dynamics, the family office is tapping rising consumer demand — especially in categories expected to sustain long-term secular expansion (clean eating, plant-based snacking).
Analysts view the deal as a portfolio diversification signal. Emerging market family offices increasingly look outward, not just for yield arbitrage but for brand assets that provide end-market exposure and stable consumer cash flows. The acquisition could position the office for future bolt-on growth in adjacent product lines or distribution networks.
Broader Wealth Strategy Signals
Uday Kotak’s move aligns with a global trend of Indian billionaire family offices deploying capital abroad to access stable growth sectors and hedge domestic economic cyclicality. It also underscores an evolution in family office playbooks — from passive holdings and real estate to active operating stakes in consumer businesses.
This outward pivot echoes other billionaire capital migrations — from Silicon Valley residents shifting domicile and investments in response to tax policy uncertainty, such as Larry Page’s Miami real-estate repositioning, to legacy European luxury owners placing strategic stakes into financial advisory platforms like the Chanel family’s investment in Rockefeller Capital Management.
What Comes Next
USK Capital’s debut U.S. buy sets a precedent for future cross-border acquisitions by Indian billionaire family offices into branded consumer goods and lifestyle sectors. It also reinforces the theme that wealth diversification is happening at both the portfolio and geographic level, not just between asset classes but between regulatory and consumer markets.
The Go Raw deal highlights how dynastic capital is evolving — from passively managed fortunes to actively curated global portfolios with operational depth and brand exposure.
