UB Group to consolidate foreign liquor assets

Mumbai: UB Group will consolidate its foreign alcohol assets ahead of an overseas listing of the brands, the Economic Times reported on Monday, but UB said any listing would not be to assist the group’s struggling Kingfisher Airlines Ltd.

UB will bring its foreign assets under the Whyte & Mackay (W&M) brand and list the Scottish subsidiary as part of a strategy to help with Kingfisher’s financial troubles, the newspaper reported citing one unnamed source close to the group.

“Any plans we may have for W&M have nothing to do with Kingfisher Airlines,” UB Group spokesman Prakash Mirpuri told Reuters.

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Cash-strapped Kingfisher, controlled by flamboyant liquor baron and UB Group head Vijay Mallya, has been forced to cancel flights and is having trouble making interest payments and paying salaries to employees.

“We have talked about listing W&M right from the time of acquisition. However, there are no immediate plans in the offing,” Mirpuri added.

Shares in United Breweries Ltd, the UB Group’s flagship company, were trading up 4.9 percent at 466 rupees at 9.37 am in a Mumbai market down 0.3 percent.

UB acquired Whyte & Mackay, which sells various liquor brands, in 2009 for $595 million.

“When we have something to announce, we will first talk to our stakeholders and then we will tell the press,” Ravi Nedungadi, chief financial officer of the UB Group said in reference to the newspaper report.

Reuters