STERLING PICKS
UP TURNER MORRISON'S 65% IN BARISTA
The Sterling group, promoted by NRI businessman C Sivasankaran,
has bought out the New Delhi-based Turner Morrison group's 65.45%
stake in the coffee bar chain Barista Coffee Company for an
undisclosed amount.
The group, which runs a Chennai-based
coffee company called Fresh & Honest, will be the Tata
group's new partner in Barista. A Subramanian, a Sterling
group director, said that the deal was finalised on Friday.
The Tatas hold 34.3% in the coffee chain through the group
company Tata Coffee, which in turn is a subsidiary of Tata
Tea.
When Tata Coffee acquired a 34.3% stake
in Barista Coffee Company for Rs 26 crore in '01, the enterprise
value of the company was pegged at around Rs 76 crore. ET
had reported on February 27 that Mr Sivasankaran is in negotiations
to buy out Turner Morrison's group stake in Barista.
Industry sources said Barista and Fresh
& Honest will now integrate their businesses. While Barista
is an upmarket Espresso coffee bar on the lines of Starbucks,
Fresh & Honest, with a turnover of close to Rs 50 crore,
caters to a large number of corporate clients.
A major chunk of revenue of the Chennai-based
coffee chain comes from vending machines installed at corporate
offices. The company's clientele includes large corporates
like IBM and Citibank.
The new alliance comes when Barista is
expanding its global operations in markets such as Dubai and
Sri Lanka. Barista, which faces stiff competition from chains
like Cafe Coffee Day, has created a sub-brand called Barista
Experience.
