Jayanti Chauhan to reign over Bisleri as Tatas withdraw acquisition

Jayanti Chauhan, daughter of Chairman Ramesh Chauhan is all set to head Bisleri International as Tata Consumer Products Ltd (TCPL) withdraws its plan of acquiring the company. According to a report by the Economic Times, the chairman stated that Jayanti, who is the current vice chair of the company, will be leading the business with the support of their talented team. Additionally, he clarified that they have no intention of selling the company, which was established and promoted by Ramesh himself.

Sources familiar with the matter have reported that Jayanti will work in collaboration with a team of experienced managers, who will be led by Angelo George. Earlier this year, it was reported that the 82-year-old Chauhan had sold the company to the Tata Group for an estimated amount of Rs 7,000 crore. However, Tata Consumers terminated the contract with India’s biggest bottled water company, citing “indecisiveness” as the reason behind their decision. On diving deep into the matter, it was found out that negotiations with the Chauhan family began two years ago, but Tata Consumer ended the talks last week. Jayanti has intermittently worked for the company in the past, but her recent focus has been on Bisleri’s Vedika brand.

On recent earnings calls, Sunil D’Souza, the Managing Director of Tata Consumer, stated that acquisitions are a crucial component of the company’s growth strategy. However, as per one of the executives cited by ET, the company will now prioritize expanding its existing range of bottled waters, including Himalayan, Tata Copper Plus Water, and Tata Gluco. The FMCG division of the Tata Group issued a statement to the stock exchange on March 17, clarifying that the company has not entered into any definitive agreement or binding commitment with Bisleri International. The statement further confirmed that Tata Consumer has terminated discussions with Bisleri regarding a potential transaction and has not reached any final agreement or binding commitment on this matter.

It is worth noting that as per previous reports, Ramesh had stated that he had nobody to take his legacy forward. His daughter was not interested in heading Bisleri International. Therefore, he had taken the decision of considering acquisition by Tatas who he trusted to maintain the same authenticity and value that his brand held in the market for decades. Jayanti is the only daughter of the veteran industrialist who has built various brands like Thums Up, Limca, Gold stop, and more. Though Jayanti largely comes from a fashion background, she joined her father’s company at the age of 24. She started off at the Delhi office where she worked on bringing automation changes in various processes. She later moved to Mumbai where she focused on the HR, Sales, and Marketing functions. 

Sources reported that the Tata Group had made considerable efforts to persuade the chairman for the acquisition. The deal faced no valuation disagreements. However, he remained in two minds regarding selling his brainchild. Finally, he managed to convince his daughter to lead the company and was successful in keeping it at home.