Mumbai, July 26 - France's Danone, Coca-Cola Co. and the consumer goods unit of software firm Wipro Ltd. are in talks to buy India's top bottled water brand Bisleri, the Economic Times said on Thursday.
The founder of Bisleri, Ramesh Chauhan, has not zeroed in on a valuation for the company or a buyer, and may consider a joint venture arrangement, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources.
"There are interested parties all the time. That does not signify my immediate intent to sell," Chauhan told the paper.
Representatives of these companies have met Chauhan and some are willing to pay a multiple of 4-6 times its earnings, it said.
Bisleri had annual sales of about 5.0 billion to 6.5 billion rupees ($161 million) and has about 60 percent of the market, it said.
The bottled water market in India is growing quickly on the back of rising incomes and the expansion of modern retail.
Coca-Cola, whose Kinley brand of mineral water has a small share of the market, bought a basket of leading soft drink brands including ThumsUp and Limca from Chauhan more than 10 years ago.
PepsiCo's Aquafina and Mount Everest Mineral Water also compete with dozens of smaller regional brands. ($1=40.3 rupees)