ITC denies plan to buy stake in Coffee Day Enterprises

ITC Ltd has refuted reports claiming that the tobacco-to-hotels conglomerate is planning to buy stake in the embattled Coffee Day Enterprises. The parent company of coffee house chain Cafe Coffee Day also rejected these reports in a stock exchange filing.

"ITC receives enquiries from market participants on an ongoing basis which are suitably evaluated. One such enquiry was received from an intermediary on Cafe Coffee Day. However, no progress was made on the matter," an ITC spokesperson told PTI.

ALSO READ: Coffee Day Enterprises discloses debt down to Rs 4,970 crore; to slash to Rs 2,570 crore after Global Village sale

In response to a query by Bombay Stock Exchange, Coffee Day Enterprises Limited (CDEL) stated that reports of ITC planning to buy stake in it are "factually incorrect and the company is unaware of the said news".

Reports that surfaced earlier on Wednesday claimed that ITC has been given access to the assets and financial details of CDEL for due diligence.

Cafe Coffee Day chain of coffee houses, operated by CDEL, has around 1,700 outlets across India. The company had been in trouble after its founder VG Siddhartha took his own life as debt strains began to emerge in his company.

Since Siddhartha's death, Coffee Day Enterprises has been trying to divest its assets to pare its debts. Reports in June had indicated that Coca Cola has initiated talks with CDEL to acquire a substantial stake in Cafe Coffee Day.

Recently, CDEL's board approved selling its Global Village Tech Park in Bengaluru to Blackstone to help bring down its borrowings. The deal is expected to raise up to Rs 3,000 crore for CDEL. The deal, however, is subject to Blackstone's due diligence and other required approvals.

ALSO READ: Coffee Day Enterprises board approves divestment in GVT Park to Blackstone; what are key hurdles?