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Mallya picks up gauntlet, "ready" to buy 40% Chhabria stake in Herbertson's
Debojyoti Chatterjee
MUMBAI, January 18: United Breweries group chairman Vijay Mallya is "ready" to buy Kishore Chhabria's 40 per cent equity stake in liquor firm Herbertson's to ensure that the company stays within the group fold.The payout expected to be made is around Rs 40 crore, less than half of Rs 100 crore Chhabria had claimed. Till such time as the deal is sorted out, Mallya and the board of Herbertson's have refused to transfer the shares to Kishore Chhabria. "There is no way Chhabria is going to take away Herbertson's, and whatever needs to be done to keep it within the UB group will be done. A man of Chhabria's record cannot be allowed to run Herbertson's, a company completely dependent on UB, so much so that the essence of the best-selling Bagpiper whisky is made by UB," Mallya told The Financial Express. He dismissed all talks of the payout being in the range of Rs 100 crore. "It's all rubbish. The share price is ruling at around Rs 60, and the equity capital is Rs 10 crore. This means 40 per cent
Dog would continue to stay within the fold irrespective of whether the joint venture with United Distillers splits. "Black Dog was promoted by Carew Phipsons of Calcutta more than hundred years ago. Since the merger of Carew with McDowell, the brand ownership has rested with UB. We will continue to own the brand and retain all distribution rights for it even if the joint venture with UD comes unstuck. One thing is certain: we will not be sidelined in the case of of an IDI-UD merger in the country. After all, we control distribution, and if scotch sales have inched up, it is largely because of our strong distribution network," Mallya said.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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