UB places Rs 1,760 cr bid for Invergordon

Diageo, other European firms also in the running.

Vijay Mallya-controlled United Spirits has put in a bid to acquire Invergordon, the private label scotch company of European drinks major Whyte & Mackay for Rs 1,760 crore (£200 million).

Located at Cromarty Firth in northern Scotland, Invergordon is the largest grain distillery in Europe and has been up for sale from December last year.

The bid for Invergordon is aimed at beating European Scotch makers' opposition to permit UB's molasses-based whisky products and get an established position in Europe. UB sources neither confirmed nor denied the development.

According to industry sources, the world's second largest drinks company Diageo and a couple of other European firms are also in the race. However, investment banking sources said UB's bid was learnt to be the highest.

In the Scotch whisky segment, United Spirits' flagship brand in India is Black Dog. The company had also launched a low-cost variant of Black Dog Scotch whisky to expand its market to a larger consumer segment and the middle income group in particular.

For the Scotch business, UB had been importing bulk from the Glasgow-based White & Mackay. Currently, none of the products from Invergordon is available in India.

The deal, if it happens, would also help United Spirits to launch some of these private label products from the UK company's portfolio in the Indian market, the industry sources said.

The UB Group, amidst the consolidation process of its spirit companies Shaw Wallace and McDowells & Co, had set its eye on a leading UK based Scotch whisky company for acquisition.