| India's liquor baron Vijay Mallya's bid to bag Scottish liquor firm Whyte & Mackay has run into unexpected hurdles, reports Economic Times. Until two months ago, it seemed as if Mallya's UB Group, the only bidder left in the race to acquire the seventh-largest Scotch whisky maker in the world, had the deal all wrapped up.
But after the recently completed due diligence, it now appears that Mr Mallya has been asked to raise his bid price from £540 million to about £680-700 million.
Mallya was in Shanghai to launch its liquor brands in China . "If we buy, we buy at the right price. UB will decide on how much it is willing to , within two weeks", he said. Senior industry executives close to the group hinted, however that some legal hassles had also surfaced that could hamper the deal.
Whyte & Mackay has a turnover of $283 million. The company also owns Dalmore Single Highland Malt, Vladivar vodka and Isle of Jura, the single-malt scotch.
Mr. Mallya has been eyeing Whyte & Mackay ever since he acquired his nearest Indian competitor Shaw Wallace two years ago. As talks progressed between the two parties, the Scottish company raised the asking price to £600 million. In March this year, the two parties reached a consensus price of £540 million.
Mallya's statement in Shanghai on Friday perhaps signifies that he wants to strike the best bargain. He wants to leverage the W&M brand portfolio to expand his presence in the developed markets and his home turf in India.
UB plans to ship French wine in bulk to India from Bouvet Ladubay in Saumur, Loire Valley , France (his latest acquisition at $15 million) where it will be blended with Indian-made wines to cater to a growing number of wine drinkers.
Details at http://economictimes.indiatimes.com
|
