Ramesh Chauhan is divesting Bisleri International to Tata Consumer Products Ltd (TCPL) for an estimated Rs 6,000-7,000 crore, The Economic Times reported.
The current management will continue for two years as part of the deal. 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. Daughter Jayanti isn’t too keen on the business, Chauhan said. Bisleri is India’s largest packaged water company.
The Tata Group “will nurture and take care of it even better,” although selling Bisleri was still a “painful” decision, Chauhan said.
“I like the Tata culture of values and integrity and hence made up my mind despite the aggression shown by other interested buyers”, the report said.
Bisleri is said to have had several suitors at different times, including Reliance Retail, Nestle, and Danone. Talks with Tata have been going on for two years and he made up his mind after meeting Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran and Tata Consumer CEO Sunil D’Souza a few months back. “I like them. They are good guys,” he told ET.
Chauhan doesn’t see any point in holding minority stakes after selling the business. “What will I do with it when I am not running the show?” he said.