Tata Withdraws Acquisition Offer, Jayanti Chauhan Takes Reins at Bisleri International
Lessons from the Thums Up Sale and What it Means for Bisleri's Future with Jayanti Chauhan at the Helm
20 March 2023
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Kunal Tyagi
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The management of the bottled water company will be taken over by Jayanti Chauhan, the chairman of Bisleri International's board of directors Ramesh Chauhan's daughter.
Tata Consumer Products backed out of its prior agreement to purchase Bisleri for an estimated INR70 billion ($934 million).
High double-digit growth has been seen in Bisleri's packaged beverage sector, with early summer sales reaching a peak due to increased out-of-home demand.
After Tata Consumer Products withdrew from the acquisition process, Jayanti Chauhan, daughter of Bisleri International chairman Ramesh Chauhan, will take over the company's management. The company's vice chair, Chauhan, will collaborate with the experienced management group headed by CEO Angelo George.
Chauhan had already consented to sell the Bisleri name to Tata Group for INR70 billion ($934 million). Tata Consumers later canceled the agreement because of its "indecisiveness," nevertheless. Talks with Bisleri were initiated by the Tata Group's FMCG division two years prior.
Tata Consumer Products declared that it had "ceased conversations with Bisleri over a prospective transaction" and that it had "not entered into any definitive agreement or binding commitment" with Bisleri International.
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Experts predicted that the promoters would decide otherwise along the road. We'll just have to wait and see," one of them added. "We are confident that prospective purchasers will keep watching for a chance to purchase the brand."
When Coca-Cola reentered the Indian market in 1993, Chauhan offered his soft drink brands Thums Up, Gold Spot, Citra, Maaza, and Limca for sale to the company's India division. Thumbs Up maintains its lead over international competitors Coke and Pepsi in India's soft drink market with a share of roughly 20%.
Sales of bottled beverages have reached a peak as a result of early summer and a spike in out-of-home demand. The industry has been increasing in the high double digits. That may also have given the promoters' desire to be in control more fuel, according to a knowledgeable source.