India, Mumbai: United Breweries Ltd. announced on April 4 it has bought out the promoters’ minority stake of 35 % in Associated Breweries and Distilleries Ltd. The deal has been finalised at a put option price of Rs 24 crore, The Telegraph India News posted.
At the annual general meeting held in September, United Breweries’ (UB) shareholders had approved the stake-buy in Associated Breweries (ABDL) for a sum not exceeding Rs 35 crore, the company said in a release here today.
The buy out was through an exercise of the put option. The deal, after protracted negotiations, has been finalised at a revised put option price of Rs 24 crore, the release said. UB would deposit Rs 24 crore in an escrow account and the fund would be released after ABDL promoters complete formalities with Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation for perfecting the title to the property in favour of the company, the release added.
UB had bought a 65 % stake in ABDL in 2001 in the face of competition from international brewery majors for acquiring a controlling stake in the company, it said. ABDL’s brewing unit in Navi Mumbai has a capacity to produce 20 lakh dozen per annum and owns brands like London Pilsner, London No 1 strong and Maharaja lager beer.
ABDL, a subsidiary of UB, would become the latter’s wholly-owned subsidiary following the transaction. The deal is expected to be completed in the next 90 days. Meanwhile, UB is planning to merge all its companies under a single entity — United Spirits Ltd — in the next three months. “We are looking at merging the spirit business under a single brand, which will help unlock the value and exploit the potential of the group,” UB group chairman Vijay Mallya had said over the weekend.
Înapoi
(libra 1.5156 sec.)