MALLYA
TO CONSOLIDATE ALL LIQUOR INTO UNITED SPIRITS
THE UB group has
formally announced the consolidation of its spirits business
into a single entity, United Spirits. The new company will
have combined sales of about Rs 3,000 crore and a portfolio
of about 130 brands, including India's largest-selling whisky
Bagpiper.
UB group chairman
Vijay Mallya said today that group has proposed to combine
all its spirits companies, including Shaw Wallace Distillers
(makers of Royal Challenge), Herbertsons (Bagpiper whisky),
Triumph Distillers (makers of Gilbey's Green Label) and McDowell
(McDowell No.1 whisky), under a single entity.
The merger of Shaw
Wallace & Co, the holding company which owns the brands,
and other associate companies, will be taken up later after
resolving the disputed tax liabilities of SWC, he added.
Mr Mallya also
said McDowell & Co has received expressions of interest
for investments rangingfrom$100-200million at an attractive
valuation. Under the proposed merger, the shareholders of
Herbertsons will get two fully paid-up shares of McDowell
for every three shares of Herbertsons. The share swap ratio
for Triumph is 83 fully paid-up equity shares for four shares
in Triumph. And for Baramati Grape the ratio is 31 shares
for every 21 of Rs 100 each held in Baramati Grape Industries
Ltd. Three fully paid-up equity shares of Rs 10 each for every100
equity sharesofRs 10 eachheld in UDIL and seven fully paid-up
equity share of Rs 10 each for every 20 of Rs 10 each held
in Shaw Wallace Distillers Ltd.
All these companies
will be merged into McDowell, which will be rechristened United
Spirits. The board of Mc- I Dowell, which met today, has approved
the merger proposal and swap ratio. The McDowell board also
has cleared the proposal for the demerger of the investment
business into McDowell India Spirits Ltd (MISL). The shareholders
of the company will be issued one fully paid up equity share
of MISL of Rs 10 each for every five equity shares of Rs 10
each held by them in the company.
