ITC says it is not buying Century's paper business

A spokesperson of ITC, the country's largest cigarette maker and one of India's largest FMCG companies, has told Business Today that news of the company buying Century Textile and Industries' paper division are incorrect. The spokesperson also said that the company had already sent in a clarification to the stock exchanges.

News of the purported talks took ITC's stock up 0.54 per cent to close at Rs 343.70 at market closing today, while Century's stock shot up 3.03 per cent to close at Rs 736.40.

ITC is also one of India's leading manufacturer of paper products, with revenues of Rs 3,194 crore coming from its paper and packaging division in 2013/14. This division brought in around 7 per cent of its consolidated revenues last year, with growth clocked around 20 per cent.

Century Textile and Industries is part of the Aditya Birla Group. Last year its revenues from pulp and paper were Rs 1,726.4 crore, comprising around 25 per cent of the company's total revenues, and growing at an impressive 35 per cent.