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Strategies & Market Trends : India Coffee House -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mohan Marette who wrote (4659)	6/18/1999 4:03:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Respond to of 12475

Tatas set to buy UK-based Tetley for UK£200 million (Saturday, June 19, 1999) TATA Tea tata.com Abhijit Das in Mumbai (Business Standard) The Tata group is all set to acquire the UK-based tea company, Tetley for about £200 million (Rs 1,500 crores). Tata Tea is expected to seal the deal within a week. If the deal is through, it will the largest ever Indian takeover overseas and the first major international acquisition for the Tata group. The deal is expected to further consolidate Tata Tea's position in the global market. At home, Tata Group already has a joint venture with the Tetley group in India, Tata Tetley,which is into tea packaging for both domestic and export market. The company is based near Kochi, in Kerala. When contacted, the Tata Group's spokesperson declined to comment considering the "sensitivity of the issue". Tetley is a leading packaging and tea blending company in the international tea market. However, compared to the global standards, the Tetley group is a tiny factor in the $600 million tea market, with a seven per cent market share. Lipton with its 39 per cent market share holds the roost. Considering the size of the deal, the Tata Group is also working out a unique arrangement to fund its acquisition. Sources close to the deal say, the Tata Group has roped in Tetley group to fund the proposed acquisition. "Tata's are looking to piggy back on Tetley's balance sheet in order complete the leveraged buy-out", they point out. In fact, Tetley will raise debt from the market by leveraging its own balance sheet. Tetley is a very low debt company and is capable of leveraging on its own balance sheet. The plan envisaged presently is to raise the required 200 million pounds sterling through Tetley will primarily be used to fund the proposed acquistion. Once the acquistion is through, Tata Tea will take on the loans and continue with the debt repayment. Globally, the Tetley group purchases more than two million pounds of tea to produce its different blends. Its buying agents are active in the world's major auctions markets which includes Calcutta and Mombasa, in Africa. These teas come from up to 35 different countries and from some 10,000 different estates. Tetley's major products include Black tea made from tea leaves that have been fully oxidized or fermented, Orange Pekoe, dripless Tetley Drawstring Tea Bag, flavoured Specialty Teas, Black Currant, Strawberry, Lemon and Apple Cinnamon. It also offers an extensive array of full-bodied herbal teas including Camomile Lemon, which offers a delicate balance of camomile, licorice and citrus fruit; Orange Peach.

To: Mohan Marette who wrote (4659)	6/18/1999 4:14:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Respond to of 12475

Samsonite to make India its Asian hub (Saturday, June 19, 1999) Our Corporate Bureau in New Delhi In major global restructuring, US-based travel goods maker Samsonite has decided to make India one of the three global hubs for manufacturing its products. The other two hubs, or 'mother plants' as they are called, for the $1.2-billion Samsonite will be the US and Belgium. The Indian operation would be responsible for whole of the Asian region, including China....... business-standard.com