United Spirits went out in search of a well-aged Scotch in May, picking up Whyte and Mackay for more than US$1 billion.
Tycoon Vijay Mallya, chairman of United Spirits parent UB Group, achieved his aim of entering the European spirits market through the deal. Mallya’s attempts to sell his brews in Europe have been staunchly resisted by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) of Britain, which says whisky cannot be made out of anything but grain.
Whyte and Mackay is a 163-year-old Scotch whisky company in Glasgow.
“The potential for premium Scotch whisky in India is enormous,” said Mallya in a statement.
“With this acquisition, we now have a strong portfolio of internationally recognized brands that we will immediately introduce into the Indian market and use our strong distribution muscle fully to our advantage,” he added.
Linklaters advised United Spirits while other legal advisers included: Shepherd and Wedderburn – lawyers to the buyer, Scottish law; Luthra & Luthra – lawyers to the buyer, Indian law; Harney Westwood & Riegels – lawyers to the Buyer, British Virgin Islands law; Berwin Leighton Paisner – lawyers to the Seller, English law; McClure Naismith – lawyers to the Seller, Scottish law; Maples and Calder – lawyers to the Seller, British Virgin Islands law; Allen & Overy, Hong Kong – lawyers to Citibank, English law; Wadia Ghandy – lawyers to Citibank, Indian law; Allen & Overy, London – lawyers to ICICI, English law; Brodies – lawyers to ICICI Bank, Scottish law; and McGrigors – lawyers to the Bank of Scotland. United Spirits acquired Whyte & Mackay from family trusts associated with Vivian Imerman and Robert Tchenguiz.
United Spirits is part of the UB Group, a Bangalore-based conglomerate. It is the world’s third largest producer of spirits and markets more than 140 brands, the best known of which (outside India) is Kingfisher lager.
Whyte & Mackay is one of the largest producers of Scotch whisky in the world and is Britain’s largest producer of own-label Scotch.
The acquisition was funded by two entirely separate bank facilities totalling more than US$1.2 billion: a £325 million leveraged acquisition arranged by ICICI Bank UK, to be secured on the assets of the target, Whyte & Mackay; and a US$618 million leveraged loan arranged by Citigroup, secured on the assets of United Spirits which effectively funded United Spirits’ equity component.
