India's Varun Beverages hits record high on $158 mln S. Africa deal

Varun Beverages

20/12/2023 04:38

** Shares of Pepsi India bottler Varun Beverages  VARB.NS 
rise 17.8% to a record high of 1,380 rupees
    ** Co says it will buy South Africa-based The Beverage
Company in a 13.2 bln rupees ($158.74 mln) deal 
    ** "We see significant value creation opportunity given
PepsiCo's low single-digit share in South Africa" - Kotak
Institutional Equities
    ** Separately, co signed deal with Jharkhand govt to set up
manufacturing plant in state at capex of 4.5 bln rupees
    ** Stock on track for largest weekly gain since week ending
Nov. 8, 2019
    ** More than 5.4 mln shares traded as of 9:54 a.m. IST,
busiest trading day this month
    ** 12 of 15 brokerages rate stock "buy" or higher and 3
"hold"; median PT is 1040.50 rupees, 32.6% lower than current
record high - LSEG data
    ** VARB last up 12.2% adding to YTD gains of 98.9%


($1 = 83.1550 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Meenakshi Maidas in Bengaluru)
 ((meenakshi.maidas@thomsonreuters.com;))