Tata Tea looking for a bite of Cadbury?

Tata Tea has shown interest in a piece of Cadbury''s global beverage business, not as a buyer or in making a financial investment, but as a strategic partner.

In an exclusive to CNBC-TV18, R K Krishna kumar, vice chairman of Tata Tea and Indian Hotels, has disclosed that his company was invited to be a strategic partner by a consortium of private equity players.

Krishna Kumar said, "I''m not saying we are pursuing Cadbury. We were invited into the process as a strategic partner and we may or may make any investment at all."

There''s more Krishna kumar had to say. He said the investment in Glaceau was not a deal gone wrong, but a learning experience. Initially, both he and chairman Ratan Tata were keen to buy a 65-per cent stake in energy brands, the company that sells enhanced water products under the Glaceau brand. But the deal seemed a bit too large and Tata Tea settled for a 30-per cent stake.

Krishna Kumar said, "Because of the concern expressed, we can step back from 65 per cent to 30 per cent . At that time the enterprise value was $2.2 billion, which we paid and we had only 30-per cent stake, we were minority shareholders. The management of the company had a great offer from Coke at $4.4 billion, almost double.

"Had it been 65 per cent, we would have had no reason to sell, at the same time, being a minority shareholder, we didn''t want to stand in the way of management. I don''t believe this is a failed transaction, but merely a deflectionary move. The learning from this process, insight into the beverage market makes us extremely interested in making a couple of potential moves in the coming period."