"Contours of the deal are still being worked on — how Heritage Fresh will be merged within Future Group and whether the transaction could involve any share swap, apart from cash component," said one of the people cited above.Heritage Foods did not respond to an email sent on Friday. A Future Group spokesperson said it wouldn't comment on speculation.Hyderabad-based Heritage Foods operates two flagship divisions — dairy and retail — and has interests in small businesses, including bakery and animal feed. Its debt-equity ratio was at 0.60 on March 31, against 1.35 in the previous year.With the Heritage Fresh chain, Biyani will take the Future Group's total store count to more than 850 outlets. It now operates around 13 million square feet of retail space in 221 cities, with an annual customer footfall of 295 million. Consolidation in the grocery space will help Future Group push its private label consumer products, which earn higher margins than other items.

Source: Economic Times September 18, 2016 21:45 UTC