Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd., one of India’s largest bottled water bottlers, has expressed strong interest in the Tata Group, which is seeking a majority stake in makers but has reached an impasse overvaluation.
Last year, Bisleri Chairman Ramesh Chauhan was in talks to sell a stake to Tata, but the process is stuck. For Tata Group, acquiring Bisleri could have expanded its portfolio of bottled water brands in India. One of the conglomerate’s listed units, Tata Consumer Products Ltd., owns the Himalayan Natural Mineral Water and Tata Water Plus brands.
The Indian conglomerate had been in forward-looking discussions to take control of Bisleri, and the parties were working on finalizing the structure of a transaction as Bisleri’s owners were looking to raise about $1 billion from a deal.
Negotiations later hit a snag as the companies were unable to agree on a valuation, and discussions between Tata and Bisleri could still resume and other potential suitors may emerge.
Bisleri traces its roots to 1949 when Shri Jayantilal Chauhan founded soft drink maker Parle Group, which acquired Bisleri from an Italian entrepreneur in 1969. It said it has a 60% share of India’s bottled mineral water market.