McLeod sells 6 more gardens; courting Alibaba, others to sell tea online

In its fourth tranche of sales, McLeod Russel, which is on a selling spree of its tea gardens, has signed agreements to sell off two estates in Dooars in West Bengal and four estates in Assam for a total consideration of Rs 2.32 billion. In Dooars, the Chuapara and Jainti Tea Estates including Chuniajhora Tea Estate, whose produce is processed in the Jainti Tea Estate, are being sold to Civil Engineers Enterprises, a non-tea firm. In Assam, the Addabarie, Dirai, Mahakali and Rajmai Tea Estates are being sold to Saffron Enclave, another non-tea firm. These estates in Assam, which are currently undergoing the process of due diligence as part of the sale procedure, contributed around 2.66 per cent or Rs 970 million to McLeod’s total turnover and are being sold for Rs 1.81 billion. On the other hand, the estates in Dooars account for 2.69 per cent of McLeod’s total turnover at Rs 420 million and are being disposed of at Rs 516.2 million.