Tata Global to acquire Dhunseri's branded tea biz

Tata Global Beverages Ltd (TGBL) on Tuesday said it has entered into a non-binding agreement to acquire the branded tea business of city-based Dhunseri Tea and Industries Ltd, for an aggregate consideration of up to Rs 101 crore.

The proposed acquisition will be subject to due-diligence, signing of definitive binding agreements and applicable approvals, TGBL said in an exchange filing.

Dhunseri's branded tea business include 'Lalghoda' and 'Kalaghoda' brands in Rajasthan, where local players dominate the market.

The move is in line with TGBL's ambition to grow its branded tea business in India, the company release said.

For the fiscal ended March 31, the India tea business of TGBL clocked a 9 per cent volume growth and 7 per cent value growth across its brands.

Net sales of Dhunseri's branded tea business stand at Rs 70 crore.

"I will focus on bulk tea business. Packet tea needs a lot of effort in building marketing network. TGBL are leaders in packet tea and they will grow the brands," Chairman of Dhunseri Group, C K Dhanuka, told PTI.

Dhunseri has a total bulk tea capacity of 11 million tonne in India and 10 million tonne in Africa.

"We want to acquire more tea gardens in Africa, but not keen in India," he said.