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. Ramesh Chauhan, founder and chairman of Bisleri International Pvt Ltd, which owns India's largest selling bottled water brand Bisleri, today confirmed that the bottled water giant is in talks with Tata Consumer Products to sell part stake in the company.
However, no agreement has been signed till now as negotiations are still on. Chauhan asserted that the family is not looking to sell entire stake in the company, but the sale of a part of the stake, which could be majority or a significant minority is being discussed with Tata. Chauhan told CNBC-TV18 that the company is being valued at Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 crore for the deal and added that the culture of the company buying the stake is more important than the valuation. Bisleri is in talks with other companies as well, apart from Tata Consumer, for the stake sale, however, Chauhan refused to reveal the names. "We are in discussions with Tatas, other players are there in the fray, but cannot share. 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 in India, made an offer for Bisleri in September.