CCD shares nosedive 20% after VG Siddhartha goes missing

The shares of Café Coffee Day enterprises tanked 20 percent in the early trading session on Tuesday after its founder VG Siddhartha was reported missing. The shares touched a 52-week low of Rs 154.05, down by 19.99 percent from the previous close.

There were pending sell orders of 21,24,708 shares on BSE and 85,99,029 shares on NSE, with no buyers available.

Soft drinks giant Coca-Cola had initiated preliminary talks with CCD in June, to acquire a substantial stake in the coffee chain. According to Economic Times, the soft drink maker was eyeing a significant foothold in the fast-growing cafe business space as the core carbonated drinks segment is slowly losing sheen.

According to multiple reports, the company's promoter group led by Siddhartha was trying sell around 20-30 percent of his stake in the company to Coca Cola.

The promoter group holds a 53.93 percent of the stake in the Coffee Day Enterprises. Of this, Siddhartha owns a 32.75 percent stake, while his wife and former Karnataka chief minister SM Krishna's daughter Malavika Hegde held a 4.05 percent stake.

The updates on the deal with Coca Cola was likely to be announced after the board meeting on Tuesday.

Siddhartha went missing in Mangaluru on Monday night. A massive search operation is underway to locate him.