Jay Shree Tea director B. M. Khaitan with chairman B. K. Birla in Calcutta on Wednesday. Picture by Kishor Roy Chowdhury

Calcutta, June 29: Jay Shree Tea & Industries Limited is considering buying out the MK Bajoria group’s Darjeeling Consolidated Tea Company in the current financial year.

The company may also merge its subsidiary ? North Tukvar Tea Company ? with itself this fiscal. The entire exercise will take the production of Jay Shree Tea to nearly 20 million kg from 16 million kg.

Jay Shree Tea, under an arrangement with Darjeeling Consolidated Tea, is managing the latter’s two gardens ? Singoli and Balasan. The total production capacity of these two gardens is 4.75 lakh kg.

Following the acquisition, the company will have four gardens in Darjeeling. At present it has two ? Risheehat and Tukvar.

“We may acquire the two estates belonging to Bajoria or may buy out the entire company,” Jay Shree Tea managing director D. M. Jain said on the sidelines of the company's 59th annual general meeting here today. Jay Shree Tea will have to shell out Rs 10 crore to buy the two estates.

The company also plans to acquire quality gardens in upper Assam. Jayashree Mohta, director of Jay Shree Tea and daughter of B. K. Birla, said, “If we get an opportunity, we will buy out gardens in upper Assam.”

The company has six estates in upper Assam and five estates in Cachar (lower Assam). It also has one estate in Jalpaiguri and the other in North Dinajpur.

Last year, the company sold out its Merchiston tea estate in Kerala for Rs 3.5 crore. Mohta, however, ruled out the possibility of further divestment of Jay Shree Tea gardens in the south. The company has two gardens in Tamil Nadu ? Sholayar and Kallyar.

Jay Shree Tea also plans to introduce a range of packet tea under the brand name Birla Tea. Jain said this new range of CTC packet tea is aimed at the middle stratum of society. The company now sells 35 lakh kg through packet tea and has set a target of 50 lakh kg in the current fiscal.