Tata Tea may uproot from Sri Lanka
Tata has invested in Sri Lanka through a joint venture with Watawala Plantations, who sells Ceylon tea under the 'Zesta' and 'Watawala' brands.
By PTI |
COLOMBO: India's Tata Tea is in talks with a Sri Lankan firm to sell off its plantation venture here, officials said.
Tata has invested in Sri Lanka through a joint venture with Watawala Plantations, who sells Ceylon tea under the 'Zesta' and 'Watawala' brands.
On Monday, Watawala's controlling shareholders signed an agreement with a Sri Lankan buyer, to begin work on a due diligence study.
The deal will be clinched both sides are satisfied with the outcome of a due diligence study, Watawala's CEO/Director Vish Govindasamy said today.
"There is no time frame as to when the due diligence study will be finished. But Tata has announced plans sometime back to gradually get out of plantation management," he said.
Govindasamy didn't say, but tea industry players are speculating that the buyer could be either Richard Pieris and Company, or James Finlays. Conglomerate Richard Pieris has recently emerged as the biggest plantation owner.
Last year, Tata sold out of its Indian plantations by transferring tea estates to an employee-owned private company.
Sri Lanka produces around 300 million kilos of tea each year, of which around 10 million kilos comes from Watawala's estates comprising 12,442 hectares of estate land growing tea (41 per cent), rubber (18 per cent) and palm oil (8 per cent).
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