India, New Delhi: India brewer leader United Breweries is learnt to have received $300 million more in bank commitment from ICICI Bank. UB will have a war-chest comprising of the credit line and the Rs 217 crore from the sale of 17.5 percent stake to Scottish & Newcastle (S&N), Sify Finance revealed on December 29.

This may be put to use if it manages to swing the Shaw Wallace deal. United Breweries will invest the funds from S&N deal or any other bank line of credit only for furtherance of its beer business. The bank has regular business transaction with the UB group. The bank is learnt to have agreed to provide a sizeable line of credit, worth around $300million, for UB.

Although UB has officially refused to comment on its interest in the Shaw Wallace deal, liquor industry and market sources say it's one of the two serious contenders in the fray. Shaw Wallace Distilleries, the liquor business of Shaw Wallace & Co (SWC), is the second largest local spirits company clocking around 15m cases a year.

However, it is still a distant second to market leader UB, which clocked 35m cases last fiscal. Liquor industry sources say Shaw Wallace's liquor division has been on the block after Jumbo, its parent company, asked Mckinsey to seek bids for it. SWC is crucial for UB given that its acquisition will make it a booze behemoth with over a 60 percent share of the IMFL market and able to take on the might of any MNC competition.

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