UB Spirits to be listed by March: Mallya

The $2 billion UB group, which recently acquired Shaw Wallace, is planning to bring its liquor business under one single entity - United Spirits - and list it by March 2006, group chairman Vijay Mallya said today.

"There would be no more acquisitions and takeovers during the process of restructuring," Mallya added.

The group has completed the financial closure for the Rs 1,300 crore acquisition of Chhabarias' stake in Shaw Wallace five weeks ago.

Mallya, whose UB group has emerged as the second-largest spirits producer in the world after Diageo, said all the listed companies and the acquired ones would be clubbed together and merged into the proposed United Spirits where promoters would hold 54% equity.

"We will merge all our spirits companies into one unit, and will complete the process by March 2006," Mallya said.

The group would amalgamate operations of its listed companies Mcdowell and Herbertson besides its private company Triumph Distillers and Vinters.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, Haribhakthi & Company and Accenture have been given the mandate to help the group complete the process of restructuring.

 "The economic interest of United Breweries in United Spirits will be about 54%," Mallya said, adding the consolidation process would include tackling issues like swap ratios and brand and manpower rationalisation. "There are too many brands, too many people and too much manufacturing. We are looking at optimising all resources," he said.

 Asked whether it aspired to become the leading spirits company in the world, he said the group would be touching 65-70 million cases this year. "We hope to catch up with Diageo, which sells about 91 million cases per annum, in another 4-5 years," Mallya said. (PTI)