Vijay Mallya says not acquiring White and Mackay

UB Group chairman Vijay Mallya last night denied he was to buy spirits group White and Mackay. Mallya said he had been receiving several calls suggesting that funding for this proposed acquisition had been lined up with ICICI Bank.

"I am both disappointed and pained at the speculative nature of such queries. More importantly, it displays complete insensitivity to Whyte and Mackay and its Directors and employees," Mallya said.

According to him, Shaw Wallace and Company Limited was associated with Whyte and Mackay prior to their take over by The UB Group. "In the last few months, we have been trying to re-establish this association and join forces to exploit opportunities in the Indian market," he said.

Mallya said the ICICI Lines of Credit were initially established for the acquisition of Shaw Wallace and have since been repaid. He added that separate Lines of Credit for Kingfisher Airlines are in place.