SWC-United Spirits merger to be complete by Nov-end

The details of the merger of Shaw Wallace & Company (SWC) with United Spirits Ltd, the proposed global liquor powerhouse, will be finalised by the end of November this year.

In a recent communiqué to the stakeholders of the UB group, chairman Vijay Mallya has made it clear that he would be happy to create a truly world-class enterprise taking the best of SWC and UB group liquor entities, over the next 60 days.

Mallya would address the shareholders of SWC at its annual general meeting (AGM) in Kolkata tomorrow. This could be the last AGM of SWC held in Kolkata.

Ahead of this mega merger, the UB chairman assured the employees of Shaw Wallace that they should not be nervous about their future.

SWC currently has an employee strength of around 2,000, which includes the employees of the distilleries.

Incidentally, the consolidation of Mallya's spirits businesses was believed to be a two-fold affair. Initially, three of UB's existing companies - McDowell & Co, Herbertsons and Triumph Distillers & Vintners - would be merged to form United Spirits Ltd.

Subsequently, SWC, would be merged with United Spirits, placing it as the world's second largest spirits marketer.

Mallya said, "What I want to achieve in a period of 60 days is to take the best practices, the best people, the best talent from both the companies and create a truly world-class enterprise in United Spirits."

UB chairman also added in his message that he had advised Sammy Lalla, managing director of SWC, to chalk out the priority areas for the next 60 days. "I told him (Lalla) to brief me appropriately so that I can then determine a suitably merged organisational structure and adopt the best of business practices and policies from each," he said.

Mallya dispelled the fear of a failed merger by saying that he was determined to ensure that the traditional reasons for failure of mergers did not apply in any way to this proposed mega merger. "I want all of you to think positive, not negative," he added.

To win the confidence of 2,000-odd SWC employees, Mallya said many people may be worried about job security, but they should not be nervous about the future.

"Trust me, we will treat you in a fair and transparent fashion. We will be kind and just. We are not monsters who believe in trampling over people's sentiments," he added.

SWC started operations since January 1886 under David Shaw and C W Wallace as founder partners in the business of buying and trading in tea and raw as well as manufactured Bengal silk.

By 1964, SWC was ranked seventh amongst the agency houses and ninth in the volume of tea shipments from Calcutta to the UK.

SWC, bought in 2005 by Mallya's UB Group, was one of the first importers of motor cars into India and also the first agents for Marconi's Telegraph Company and an airline, Imperial Airways.