 Chennai: After a lull, C Sivasankaran, chairman, Sterling Infotech group is back at it again. This time he sold his two companies – Barista Coffee Company owning the Barista chain and the 10-year old vending machine coffee company Fresh and Honest Café Limited (turnover around Rs100 crore) – to Italian Lavazza. While the Sterling Group is tight lipped about the deal size, it is reported that Siva has raked in around $125 million from the latest corporate trade. This pile of cash is expected to be pumped into his new ventures-ethanol production- in India (Sterling Bio Diesel Limited) and the US (E85 Inc) and wind energy generation (WinWinD) and real estate (Sterling Projects and Engineering Limited). In March, 2006, he sold his stakes in Aircel Cellular and Dishnet Wireless Limited for $1.08 billion to the joint venture promoted by Maxis group Singapore and Apollo Hospitals group in Chennai and started pursuing investment opportunities in media (invested $26.66 million in Sahara One Media & Entertainment for 14.98-per cent stake), wind energy (invested €20 million in WinWinD Oy, in Finland for acquiring a 40-per cent stake) real estate, fuel ethanol production, wind energy, e-governance initiatives in India and overseas. It is believed Sterling Infotech group outfit E85 Inc will build ten captive ethanol facilities throughout North America, with production capacity of 100 MM gallons per year and co-produce 1 to 2 billion gallons of ethanol per year via network providers. According to E85 Inc's website, the company intends to co-invest in up to ten ethanol developments and arrange tolling agreements with existing ethanol producers. In India, group company Sterling Bio Diesel will set up ten 200-kilo litres per day ethanol plants using sweet sorghum and tapioca apart from sugar cane as feed stock. After the recent sale, the group is still present in one food business that is Aiwo restaurant. Meanwhile the Italian group Lavazza has announced its idea of investing around Rs600 crore in expanding the coffee business. The Barista chain will be expanded to 400 outlets from the current 156 over the next three years. Regardsing Fresh and Honest, CEO R Shivashankar says, "Lavazza will consolidate the existing business. They will bring in the latest vending machines. Our other brands Alive (coffee powder) and Soyfresh (soya milk), Tofu (soya paneer) would continue to exist." In the vending machines business, the company has around 2,500 installations. "Corporates account for 60 per cent and the balance is shared equally between public places and hotels." If one looks back, Barista Coffee seems to have finally come to a serious player. In December 2004 Tata Coffee sold its 34.31-per cent holding in Barista Coffee to Sterling Infotech group reportedly for Rs65 crore. The Sterling Infotech group already owned 65 per cent of the company after buying out Turner Morrison's stake, said to be for Rs30 crore.
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