Tata Tea to acquire 33 per cent stake in South African tea company
05 Oct 2006
Mumbai:
Tata Tea subsidiary, The Tetley Group, will acquire a
33-per cent stake in South African tea company Joekels
Tea Packers, the third-largest tea company in South Africa.
The Tetley Group has signed an agreement with Joekels Tea Packers for picking up the minority stake in it, Tata Tea said in a communique without disclosing financial details of the acquisition.
Under the agreement, Joekels will have marketing rights for Tetley products in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland.
"This acquisition is yet another development in our plan to grow the Tata group''s tea business around the world. It establishes a presence for Tetley in South Africa and some of its neighbouring countries," Tetley Group executive vice chairman and CEO and director of Tata Tea, Ken Pringle, said.
Joekels, owned and run by Jonathan Kelsey and Joe Swart, has a five per cent value share of the South African market and turnover of $5 million, Tata Tea said in the release.
