Indian management conducts buyout of Whyte & Mackay’s Indian operations

The Indian management of Scotch giant Whyte & Mackay’s Indian subsidiary Kyndal India has conducted a management buyout of the latter. The MBO was led by the Indian chief Siddharth Banerji. Mr. Banerji was part of the management buyout of Whyte & Mackay in 2001, then backed by current owner of Whyte & Mackay Mr. Vivian Immerman, who later took charge of the Scotch major. Mr. Banerji has acquired Kyndal India giving him control over the regional distribution of global spirits brands like Remy Cointreau and Absolut Vodka amongst others. The details of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Kyndal will not be involved in the domestic operations of Whyte & Mackay. The deal comes in the wake of the Vijay Mallya-led UB Group’s advanced stages of talks to acquire Glasgow-based Whyte & Mackay for about $1 bn. It is learnt that the trading company Kyndal, which is former name of Whyte & Mackay, has a gross turnover of about Rs. 80 crores.

Kyndal would now be positioned as a brand distribution and marketing company focusing on the emerging lifestyle segments of the premium spirits market. Besides Remy and Absolut, Kyndal will also handle the malt spirits portfolio of another Scotch major Morrison Bowmore, which is controlled by Japan’s Suntory. Kyndal is also expected to unveil partnerships with Dutch liqueur company Lucas Bols and a not-yet revealed French entity to bring in premium brandy. The company has bought out the regional brand rights of economy scotch brand Kilt, which is likely to be locally bottled sometime in future.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

UB to look at potential targets to offset probable Whyte & Mackay deal failure

The UB Group has initiated discussions with a clutch of smaller independent Scotch whisky distillers, in case the deal with Whyte & Mackay fails to materialize. Ian Macleod and Macduff International are some of the names that are being mentioned as possible acquisition targets.

UB is working on alternative strategies even as Whyte & Mackay chairman Vivian Imerman is expected to get back on UB’s estimated bid of around £470-480 mn in the next 10 days. Accordingly, UB is looking at buying 2-3 independent distillers with sizable Scotch malt bases valued in the £80-150 mn range. The other potential buyers for Whyte & Mackay are William Grant and Caribbean entity CL Financial who have valued Whyte & Mackay at £300-350 mn.

Read the article in The Economic Times.
Related Post: UB’s bid for Whyte & Mackay hit by price issues

UB’s bid for Whyte & Mackay hit by price issues

United Breweries’ bid for scotch whisky major Whyte & Mackay seems to be running into problems with the British company believed to have raised the price tag to £600 mn. The UB Group and Whyte & Mackay were holding negotiations during the past six months, but the two have failed to reach a conclusion due to differences over the valuations. The UB Group had offered a little over £400 mn; Whyte & Mackay did not agree to this price, which was later upped to around £500 mn.

Whyte & Mackay is the seventh-largest Scotch maker in Scotland with a turnover of $283 mn. It owns major brands like Isle of Jura, Dalmore, Vladivar Vodka and Whyte & Mackay.

Read more in the article in The Economic Times.

UB to acquire Whyte & Mackay for £500 mn

The United Breweries Group is close to acquiring Glasgow-based distillers Whyte & Mackay for nearly £500 mn (Rs. 4350 crores) by January-end. This will be the largest outbound acquisition by an Indian company.

United Spirits, a part of the group flagship United Breweries, might be the investment vehicle for the acquisition of Whyte & Mackay.

Citigroup advised Whyte & Mackay, while United Spirits was advised by UBS.

The acquisition follows United Breweries’ attempt to acquire Taittinger, the world’s sixth largest champagne company, for £400 mn.

Read more in the Business Standard article.

UB builds war chest of $500 mn-$1 bn for overseas acquisitions

United Breweries (UB) has allocated $500 mn to $1 bn for overseas acquisitions, an important part of its growth strategy, said UB Group President & CFO Mr. Ravi Nedungadi. Mr. Nedungadi said so in the post-meeting address to the media, on the occasion of group company Shaw Wallace’s 60th AGM.

Mr. Nedungadi’s remark is to be seen in the light of reports of UB trying to acquire Scottish firm Whyte & Mackay. Mr. Nedungadi neither confirmed nor denied developments with regards to this issue.

Read The Economic Times article for more details.