MUMBAI: Tata Consumer Products has dropped its plans to acquire a stake in the country’s largest packaged drinking water maker Bisleri. The company on Friday informed stock exchanges that it has stopped negotiations to buy a stake in Bisleri.
“The Company wishes to update that it has now ceased negotiations with Bisleri with regard to a potential transaction and to confirm that it has not entered into any definitive agreement or binding commitment on this matter,” said Tata Consumer Products in a regulatory filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday.
“The Company had clarified that it evaluates various strategic opportunities for growth and expansion of its business, on an ongoing basis, and pursuant to this, the Management of the Company remained in discussions with various parties, including Bisleri International Private Limited (Bisleri),” the filing added. Tata Consumer Products was in talks to buy a majority stake in Bisleri for Rs 6,000-7,000 crore. According to sources, the talks have failed due to disagreement on valuations.
Currently, Bisleri has over 122 operational plants and 4,500 distributors across India and in neighbouring countries. In 1949, Jayantilal Chauhan founded soft drinks maker Parle Group, which acquired Bisleri from an Italian entrepreneur in 1969, according to its website. It has a 60% share of India’s bottled mineral water market.