The new beer's rollout has begun in Rajasthan. Under a phased expansion strategy, Karnataka is expected to follow, with more states to be added based on early response.
Bengaluru-based United Breweries (UBL), makers of Kingfisher beer, is eying strong growth in the premium beer segment, driven by changing consumer preferences towards premiumisation. "Across categories, premiumisation is taking place as people are looking for better choices and beer is no different. "People are upgrading to better beer and newer brands. We have a good offering of premium brands - Kingfisher's premium variants are Ultra and Ultra Max," Vikram Bahl, chief marketing officer (CMO), UBL, said in an interview.
A cocktail of heatwave and upcoming cricketing events is expected to usher in the peak season for the country's largest beer maker, United Breweries. The beer maker, which has gained share in some key markets, will be a major beneficiary as April to July is an important period contributing to 40-45 per cent of its annual beer volumes. Going ahead, the T20 Cricket World Cup in June and the ongoing IPL will have a positive impact on volumes and should be able to offset the negative impact of elections on sales, experts believe.
UB Group Chairman Vijay Mallya's grip on United Breweries slipped further on Thursday, after lenders to UB Group companies offloaded a part of the stake in Kingfisher beer that was pledged to them.
Mallya holds a 32.86 per cent stake in United Breweries, after having ceded control to Dutch brewer Heineken in December last year.
Breaking his silence after nine years, Vijay Mallya said he may return to India if assured a fair trial.
Heineken could call a shareholder meeting to vote on his ouster from a company his father built into a family empire
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Tuesday said that the proposed additional stake buy in United Breweries (UB) by Dutch major Heineken does not raise any competition concerns, effectively clearing the deal. In its order, the CCI said, "It is submitted that the proposed transaction does not give rise to competition concerns regardless of delineation of the relevant market for the purpose of this filing." UB is the country's largest beer company, while Heineken is the world's second-largest brewer after Anheuser-Busch (AB) InBev.
India's United Breweries has suggested close distribution ties with Heineken following the takeover offer by the Dutch brewer and Carlsberg for Scottish & Newcastle, which owns a stake in UB.
The board of directors will review the position of Vijay Mallya, under self-exile in Britain, at its next meeting on August 12.
The judge said the assets of the respondent company cannot be left under the control of UBHL and could be handed over to official liquidator to achieve the winding up process s per the law.
United Breweries Ltd plans to invest about Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) in establishing new Greenfield brewery plants in Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, as well as expanding the ones.
United Breweries Ltd on Friday posted a net profit of Rs 34.2 crore (342 million) for the second quarter ended September 30, as against Rs 19.5 crore (195 million) in the year-ago period.
If they encash shares, Dutch major Heineken will emerge as single largest shareholder in the company.
Mallya is at present based in London and extradition proceedings are on to bring him to India as the ED and the CBI are probing parallel criminal cases against him for an alleged bank loan default of Rs 9,000 crore.
Vijay Mallya, during the past two days, had ceded a marginal stake in it, allowing Heineken to be the single largest shareholder.
Stocks of alcoholic beverage makers have corrected over the last few trading sessions on worries that taxes, competition and costs will hurt sales and profitability. The recent trigger for the decline is Karnataka, which accounts for 15 per cent of overall liquor consumption, increasing duties. The state increased by 20 per cent the additional excise duty on Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) on all slabs.
The market regulator's newly proposed selection criteria for the over Rs 400-trillion-a-day futures and options (F&O) market could pave the way for the entry of popular stocks such as Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, Jio Financial Services, Zomato, Paytm, DMart, and Adani Energy into the derivatives segment. The Indian derivatives market, which accounts for most of the trading volumes, could see big churn with over two dozen exits from the current list of 182 stocks due to an upward revision in the eligibility thresholds.
Dutch brewing major Heineken on Wednesday said it has acquired an additional 14.98 per cent stake in United Breweries Ltd, taking its total shareholding to 61.50 per cent. "Heineken N.V. today (on Wednesday) announces that it has acquired an additional 39,644,346 ordinary shares in United Breweries Ltd (UBL) taking its shareholding in UBL from 46.5 per cent to 61.5 per cent," Heineken said in a statement. UBL, with its flagship brand 'Kingfisher', is the leading player in the beer market in India.
After underperforming its peers in the consumer space in 2022-23, and experiencing a mixed bag in the 2023-24 (FY24) April-June quarter (first quarter, or Q1), brokerages are positive about the medium-term outlook for liquor stocks. Higher raw material costs, concerns regarding increased duties, regulatory changes, and competitive pressures weighed on performance returns in the past quarters. Analysts believe that the sector could experience a reversal of fortunes due to better demand and margin improvements.
The enforcement agency is looking to ensure that no big deals or transactions, such as the one Mallya struck with Diageo for Rs 500 crore, take place.
The assets are estimated to be worth over Rs 6,000 crore.
In an SEC filing dating back to 1997, he figures as "J Vallabh".
Submits new settlement offer to SBI
UB Group stocks, led by United Breweries Holdings Ltd, on Monday slumped by up to 5.3 per cent as trouble mounted for Vijay Mallya.
A State Bank of India (SBI)-led consortium that gave loans to fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya on Friday received Rs 5,824.5 crore in its accounts after shares of UBL, earlier attached under the anti-money laundering law, were sold recently, the ED said. Mallya is accused in a multiple banks loan default case of about Rs 9,000 crore. The disputes resolution tribunal (DRT) had sold these shares on June 23 after the Enforcement Directorate had transferred shares worth about Rs 6,624 crore of UBL to the SBI-led consortium on the directions of a special PMLA court that is hearing the case involving Mallya in Mumbai. These shares were attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the ED, a central probe agency.
About 40 per cent of the money lost by banks in the PNB scam and the fraud linked to fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya's defunct Kingfisher Airlines has been realised by way of sale of shares seized under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the Enforcement Directorate said on Wednesday.
Kolkata-based United Bank of India, which had earlier declared Kingfisher Airlines and its four directors, including Mallya as wilful defaulters, on Tuesday identified UBHL, the guarantor of the grounded Kingfisher Airlines, also a wilful defaulter.
Embattled businessman Vijay Mallya on Tuesday lost a legal battle to hold on to his plush London home after a British court refused to grant him a stay of enforcement in a long-running dispute with Swiss bank UBS. The 18/19 Cornwall Terrace luxury apartment overlooking Regent's Park in London, described in court as an "extraordinarily valuable property worth many tens of millions of pounds", is currently being occupied by Mallya's 95-year-old mother Lalitha. Delivering his judgment virtually for the Chancery Division of the High Court, Deputy Master Matthew Marsh concluded there were no grounds for him to grant further time for the Mallya family to repay a 20.4-million loan to UBS - the claimant in the case.
Ending an almost two-year-long dispute over partnership with the Vijay-Mallya owned United Breweries Ltd, Heineken NV, the world's third-largest brewery firm, on Monday agreed to permit UBL to brew and market the Heineken brand in India.
In all, 4.2 million shares were sold during the quarter.
The UB Group, which is an established leader in the Indian beer and spirits market, is aiming to replicate its success by addressing the wine market with its two companies - United Spirits and United Breweries.
Grounded carrier Kingfisher Airlines on Wednesday said promoters United Breweries Holdings and Kingfisher Finvest India have released about 5.64 crore pledged shares.
This is as definitive as it can get. Dutch global beer major Heineken is understood to have outlined its intent to Vijay Mallya's United Breweries that it does not want to have any conflicting presence in India.
SBI Capital, Axis Capital, GMR Holdings, United Breweries, Alpic Finance (a Cipla group unit), Saradha Realty, United Bank of India and Trident India are among the prominent entities named in the list.
This will be the largest M&A by an Indian firm, to be complete by January-end.
The raids resulted in recovery of documents of some dummy firms linked to Mallya like Gold Reef Investments Ltd and McDowell Holdings Ltd.
Vijay Mallya's United Breweries Holdings has made an open offer for an additional 20 per cent stake in Air Deccan in which it has already acquired 26 per cent for Rs 550 crore (Rs 5.5 billion).
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