Tata Consumer Products Limited (TCPL) on Friday informed the stock exchanges that it has stopped any more negotiations with packaged drinking water brand Bisleri for its potential acquisition in a deal that was estimated to cost about Rs 6,000-Rs 7,000 crore.
In a regulatory filing, the company said, "The Company wishes to update that it has now ceased negotiations with Bisleri with regard to a potential transaction and to confirm that the it has not entered into any definitive agreement or binding commitment on this matter."
The development of acquisition of Bisleri by TCPL was first reported by Economic Times last year on November 24 where it stated Bisleri's Chairman Ramesh Chauhan, 82, has been in indifferent health in recent times and says he doesn't have a successor to take Bisleri to the next level of expansion.
Bisleri was originally an Italian firm set up by Felice Bisleri. It entered Mumbai in 1965 with its packaged drinking water brand. Four years later, Ramesh Chauhan and his brothers bought it for Rs 4 lakh, according to market information.
Currently, it has over 122 operational plants and 4,500 distributors across India and in neighbouring countries. In FY22, TCPL’s revenue from operations stood at Rs 12,425 crore. According to media reports, Bisleri is likely to clock sales of Rs 2,500 crore and earn a net profit of over Rs 200 crore in FY23.
Tata Group’s discussion for a majority stake in Bisleri International Pvt, one of India’s largest bottled water makers, have stalled over valuation, according to Bloomberg. Tata Group had been in advanced talks to take control of Bisleri and the parties were working on finalising the structure of a transaction.
Bisleri’s owners were looking to raise about $1 billion from a deal, some sources told Bloomberg. However, negotiations later hit a snag as the companies were unable to agree on a valuation, the sources told the news agency.