Tata Tea Set To Operate As Beverage Firm

Tata Tea is one step closer to operating virtually as one beverage company with Sri Lanka-based Watawala Plantations, a joint venture with the company, being inducted in its integration process.

Tata Tea initially considered integrating Tata Tea and Tetley only. P Siganporia, deputy managing director, Tata Tea, said, around seven task forces have been set up under a five-member supervisory team headed by managing director, Homi Khusrokhan and K Pringle, a director of Tata Tea and Tata Tea (GB), a special purpose vehicle set up for acquiring Tetley.

The different task forces have been set up under the heads of tea buying and sourcing, finance and management information systems, new product development, growth opportunities, non-tea sourcing, plantations and the US business.

"The supervisory team will monitor progress in different areas of business operations so that the business streams get impacted in the manner required and the best resources available across geographical boundaries shall be utilised to produce results for a specific brief," said Siganporia, also a member of the team.

The companies involved in the process, at present, are Tata Tea, Tetley, Watawala Plantations, Tata Tetley and Tata Tea Inc. While Tata Tea has around 54 tea estates, Watawala has around 18 tea estates.

Siganporia said the task force would bring people from across the companies under one team for increased focus in that category.

The end points of the integration process will be the development of a common vision, goals and strategies for the companies, as also the creation of a roadmap for capturing synergies and taking the process further.

Siganporia said the entire process will be co-ordinated and monitored by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). However, Siganporia clarified that the integration is only operational and not a legal one.

Previously, Tata Tea and Tetley had worked closely in the areas of tea buying and blending only. Tetley buys around 8 million kg of Indian tea in a year.

The Tata Tea scrip today touched a high of Rs 174 before closing at Rs 170.2 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the scrip closed at Rs 170.1. Volumes were 24,779 and 37,081 on BSE and NSE, respectively.