Bisleri | Tata Tata Consumer Products cancels talks on Bisleri deal
Tata Consumer Products (TCPL) said on Friday that it had called off talks with Bisleri International to buy a majority stake in India’s largest bottled water enterprises.
The firm said in a stock exchange notification that it “has not entered into any definitive agreement or binding commitment on this matter.”
Tata Group was in advanced talks to acquire Bisleri and they were in the process of finalizing the transaction's structure. The owners of Bisleri intended to raise around $1 billion from the deal. However, the negotiations encountered a hurdle when the companies failed to come to an agreement on the valuation, Bloomberg had reported citing sources, who requested anonymity.
The company has a 60% share in India’s bottled mineral water market, according to the site.
According to the Bisleri website, the company's origins can be traced back to 1949 when Shri Jayantilal Chauhan established Parle Group, a soft drinks manufacturer. In 1969, Parle Group bought Bisleri from an Italian entrepreneur Felice Bisleri.
With Bisleri’s acquisition, the salt-to-software conglomerate would have diversified its range of bottled water brands in India. Tata Consumer Products Ltd., one of the conglomerate's publicly traded arms, currently owns the Himalayan Natural Mineral Water and Tata Water Plus labels.
In February, Sunil D’Souza, managing director and chief executive officer of TCPL, told Business Standard when asked about acquisitions it plans to make, “We are not in the bidding game and will not buy at all costs. We are mindful that we create value with those acquisitions.”
