OCT 31: Bisleri owner Ramesh Chauhan on Tuesday said his mineral water business is being consolidated into a single company from eight different ones with 16 manufacturing locations to seek better operational synergies.Chauhan, who has been negotiating with several multinational companies including Nestle and Groupe Danone for selling minority stake in Bisleri, said it will take between six and eight months for the consolidation process to be completed."We were left with up to eight different companies after selling Thums Up, Goldspot and other brands to Coke earlier and are at present in the process of amalgamation of all these into one single company," Chauhan told PTI today, but declined to give any details of negotiations for offloading stake.He said while the financial status of the Bisleri business will not change after being made into one company. But as per industry sources, the proposed stake sale in a consolidated Bisleri could bring between Rs. 400-500 crore."We at present generate Rs. 200 crore from the mineral water business but this is not going to be affected by the amalgamation process," he said adding the business was witnessing an amazing 140 per cent growth at present.
