Ramesh Chauhan on Promoter Equity Dilution

Wikipedia records that India's 1991 liberalization saw Coca-Cola return to the country, and in 1993 Parle Exports sold its carbonated drinks brands Thums Up, Limca, Gold Spot, Citra and RimZim to The Coca-Cola Company for between Rs 125 crore (about US$40 million) and Rs 200 crore (about US$60 million).

In 1998 Ramesh Chauhan sold Delhi Bottling Company and Coolaid — the bottling companies for the five carbonated drink brands — to Coca-Cola, completing a multi-stage exit from the soft drinks business he had built in the 1970s.

Firstpost reports that the 82-year-old Ramesh Chauhan was in 2022 in the process of divesting Bisleri International to Tata Consumer Products Ltd (TCPL) for an estimated Rs 6,000-7,000 crore. After owning the brand for more than 50 years — having bought it back in 1969 for Rs 4 lakh — the deal represented a near-complete exit from the category Chauhan had built.

Chauhan is quoted saying the sale decision was 'painful' but he chose Tata Consumer because they would 'nurture and take care of it even better'. He added that since he had no intention of running the company he would not keep a minority stake, choosing instead to invest the proceeds in environmental and charitable causes.

BusinessLine records that in 1977, Ramesh Chauhan with brother Prakash and then-Parle CEO Bhanu Vakil launched Thums Up as the flagship cola. When Coca-Cola re-entered India in 1993, Parle sold Thums Up, Limca and Gold Spot to Coca-Cola for around $60 million — at a time when Thums Up held 85% market share in the Indian cola category.