Cnbc: TV18

Tata Consumer Products

24/11/2022 05:14

(Adds details, background)
       BENGALURU, Nov 24 (Reuters) - 
    India's Bisleri International is in talks to sell itself to
salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group, the packaged water
company's chairman, Ramesh Chauhan, said in an interview with TV
channel CNBC-TV18.
        Chauhan, however, 
    denied
     during his interview that a deal was being finalised. 
  
        Earlier, the Economic Times reported citing Chauhan that
Tata Consumer Products would buy the company for up to 70
billion rupees ($857.38 million).
        Bisleri - which competes with Coca-Cola Co's  KO.N 
Kinley and PepsiCo Inc's  PEP.O  Aquafina - and Tata Consumer
Products did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Chauhan could not be reached for comment.  
    Chauhan, who launched Bisleri in 1969 as per the company's
website, is known for creating famous homegrown soft-drink
brands, including ThumsUp, Gold Spot, Citra, Maaza and Limca. He
 sold the soft-drinks portfolio to Coca-Cola in 1993.
    Tata Consumer, which sells the popular Tata Salt, Himalayan
mineral water and runs a joint venture with Starbucks  SBUX.O 
in India, made an offer for Bisleri in September, as per media
reports.
        Shares of Tata Consumer rose as much as 3.2% in early
trade to hit 794.75 rupees, their highest since Oct. 6.
    Tata Consumer Products on Oct. 20 reported a
bigger-than-expected rise in quarterly profit, helped by higher
salt prices and pent-up demand for everything from mineral water
to Starbucks coffee.
     
 ($1 = 81.6440 Indian rupees)
 (Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman and Yagnoseni Das in Bengaluru;
editing by Uttaresh.V and Anil D'Silva)
 ((yagnoseni.das@thomsonreuters.com;Mobile: +91 6001289066))