Having failed in his US$650-million bid to acquire the Champagne house Taittinger last month, UB Group's irrepressible chairman Vijay Mallya has declared that he would be bidding for winemaker Bouvet-Ladubay, a subsidiary of Taittinger, for Rs 690 million (US$15 million) in the coming weeks, says IndiaeNews.com.

"We are looking at acquiring Bouvet-Ladubay over the next few weeks. The winery is located in the French Loire Valley region. The proposed acquisition will enable our spirits subsidiary (United Spirits Ltd) to get into high-quality premium wine," Mallya told reporters on the sidelines of a corporate event. Mallya, whose company is the world's third-largest producer of alcoholic beverages, plans to import Bouvet-Ladubay's range of wines for the domestic market.

"The acquisition will also give us access to wine technology of the highest order. We'll use the technology to develop our own vineyards and wineries here for a sustainable growth," Mallya said after addressing industry captains at the two-day India Innovation Summit 2006.

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