NRI' Sterling group acquired Barista Coffee Company's 65.45 per cent stake
for Rs. 30 Crores from Turner Morrison

New Delhi, April 21, 2004:

Sterling group acquired Barista Coffee Company's 65.45 per cent stake for Rs. 30 Crores from Turner Morrison and Tata Coffee would continue with its entire 34.1 per cent stake in Barista Coffee Company. Sterling Group was believed to have paid Rs 30 crore for acquiring the entire 65.45 per cent stake of Turner Morrison. Tata Coffee, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Tata Tea, acquired 34.1 per cent stake in Barista, for Rs 26 crore.

Yogesh Samat, CEO of Barista Coffee Company, said, "for us, the deal is positive. We are going to gain out of it as Sterling has allied interest."

Sterling Group,the Chennai-based promoted by non-resident Indian businessman C Sivasankaran, runs its own coffee vending machines from which it earns revenues of about Rs 50 crore. With the change in ownership pattern, management of the company will remain the same and the strategies will also remain the same," Samat had said.

Barista, which began its coffee retailing business in 2000, has 130 retail outlets. The company is also in the process of rationalising the number of its outlets rather than expanding the joints further. Barista has opted for franchisee route with greater focus on consolidation rather than expansion.