Bisleri not for sale: Chauhan

NEW DELHI: Bottled water major Bisleri on Thursday said many parties had shown interest in acquiring the brand but denied that it was up for sale.

"There are a lot of people who have shown interest in Bisleri as a brand and have been chasing me for sometime now because Bisleri is the only profitable brand and is dominating the water industry," Bisleri International Chairman Ramesh Chauhan said in a statement.

He, however, reiterated Bisleri was not on the blocks considering the strong growth it had been witnessing.

"I have no intention of selling the brand or any stake in my company," Chauhan said, reacting to a media report that the company was in talks with many firms, including Coca Cola and Wipro, for a possible buyout or joint venture.

Terming the report as "mere speculation", he said: "I am enjoying tremendous growth due to new positioning and advertising."

When contacted, a Coca-Cola India spokesperson said: "This is speculative and as a policy we do not comment on market speculations."

Similarly, spokesperson of Bangalore-based Wipro declined to say anything on the issue, stating the company does not comment on "market speculation".

Last year, Bisleri underwent a brand identity makeover adopting green colour over its original blue colour to distinguish itself from rest of the bottled water industry.

The company had earmarked a budget of Rs 100 crore, which included investments of Rs 40 crore for setting up of two units in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. The remaining was to be put in for ramping up its infrastructure.