| Vijay Mallya's UB Group will decide soon whether to acquire Scottish whisky maker Whyte & Mackay Ltd. to boost its global and domestic sales, the company chairman said yesterday, reports forbes.com.
"Negotiations can't continue indefinitely. In the next 4-6 weeks, we will decide," UB Chairman Vijay Mallya told reporters in Mumbai , India 's financial and entertainment capital.
The UB Group is the world's third largest producer of spirits after Pernod Ricard of France and Diageo of Britain and hopes to become bigger. The group dominates India 's liquor market.
In November, Mallya said he had been holding negotiations with Whyte & Mackay and values it at about 40 billion rupees (US$890 million).
"I will not overpay. I don't overpay for any acquisition," Mallya said on Tuesday.
If Mallya succeeds, it would be the second recent big-ticket acquisition of an European business by an Indian company after Tata Steel Ltd. snapped up European steel-maker Corus Group. The UB Group withdrew last year from a bid to buy French champagne maker Taittinger because of consternation among wine growers in the Champagne region.
Some said they would refuse to sell their grapes to an Indian-owned Taittinger. The Champagne Winemakers Council said it was concerned by India 's failure to respect geographic "appellations" restricting the use of names like Champagne to products from the region itself.
For complete report, visit http://www.forbes.com |
