Diageo on November 9 said it will buy a controlling stake in United Spirits for $2.04 billion. The maker of Johnny Walker whiskey said it will acquire 27.4 per cent of India’s largest distiller at Rs 1,440 a share and will make a tender offer for 26 per cent of the balance.
Once the regulators approve the transaction “then we get our money from Diageo,” Srei Vice Chairman Sunil Kanoria said in an interview on February 7. “We get our money, we go home.”
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Srei acquired 4.9 million shares of United Spirits after buying a $82 million loan advanced to grounded carrier Kingfisher Airlines by ICICI Bank. United Spirits shares have risen 41 per cent since November 9 and are trading 33 per cent higher than Diageo’s offer price. Kanoria didn’t explain why he isn’t selling at the market rate that values Srei’s stake higher at Rs 930 crore.
The Kolkata-based Srei had also lent about 700 million rupees to Kingfisher, Kanoria said in the interview.