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.
The acquisition of United Spirits will arm Diageo with a formidable mass-market portfolio, but consumers are up-trading rapidly.
Banks have already sold the pledged shares of Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers, realising around Rs 100 crore. Mallya and group companies have pledged over 97 per cent of the USL shares with various banks and others, which according to current market prices is worth over Rs 6,500 crore (Rs 65 billion).
Confirming the sale, senior executives of public-sector banks said there was no court directive yet to stop selling shares.
Share purchase agreement awaits Karnataka HC decision on Kingfisher creditors' plea.
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According to data reviewed by Business Standard, the dues from UB Holdings alone to USL shot up by 4.3 times to Rs 1,188 crore (Rs 11.88 billion) by the end of the last financial year, compared to an outstanding of Rs 272 crore (Rs 2.72 billion) by the end of FY12.
The CCI in an order dated February 26 approved Diageo's proposed majority stake purchase in Mallya-led United Spirits, saying the deal would not have adverse impact on competition.
The famous tag of "king of good times", used equally for Mallya and his Kingfisher beer, has been punned mercilessly in newspaper headlines to highlight the trouble in his airline.
Mallya said he was being advised by lawyer Harish Salve.
Promoter stake rises seven per cent in revised filing.
The offer is to close on April 26 and the price is fixed at Rs 1,440 a share.
Kishore Chhabria and Vijay Mallya have called truce. What drove Mallya to the negotiating table? What does it mean for Chhabria?
As part of their deal Diageo agreed to pay Mallya, $75 million for stepping down as chairman of United Spirits and for entering into a non-compete pact
Banks are seeking an order that Mallya should appear in person before the court.
Additional 26% stake to be bought next week; Diageo said to be considering raising the price.
Must satisfy shareholders on game plan to steer UB Group over next 12 months.
To pay 10 per cent interest for the period of delay.
The question now is, legal experts say, whether the new norms would come into effect prospectively or retrospectively.
Beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya on Wednesday announced he will retire as chairman of Sanofi India and will not seek reelection as a director of the drug maker.
The next step will be the 10 per cent preferential allotment, which the UB Group promoters will be making in favour of Diageo.
There is more worry for Vijay Mallya, battling many a fire. Even as his Kingfisher Airlines struggles to hold itself, another of his major companies, United Spirits, has had a setback in its legal battle against his arch rival, Kishore Chhabria.
The classification is based on several factors.
The intrigue surrounding how the Vijay Mallya-led UB Group will address the spiralling debt problem of its companies took a fresh turn on Tuesday, with one senior official saying there was a possibility of group firm United Spirits Ltd totally selling out its flagship subsidiary Whyte and Mackay (W&M), the scotch major based in Scotland.
The focus will be on moving United Spirits consumers up the value chain.
Bankers and the senior management are expected to convene another meeting later this month.
Interview with Joint President & CFO, United Spirits Limited.
He sold 8.84% stake for Rs 55 crore based on average stock price in September quarter.
There is no way out for Mallya's debt problems unless he sells some of his stake, says an analyst.
CSD was created to provide easy access to quality products of daily use, at prices less than market rates to the soldiers, ex-servicemen and their families
Lenders to Kingfisher Airlines, led by State Bank of India, had moved courts to get residual rights over these shares after Srei recovered the collateral from the defunct Kingfisher Airlines, making it difficult for Srei to sell the shares, said a legal source.
A forensic audit has found possible 'irregularities and mismanagement' in advances and investments made by Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers to his other group companies.
Vijay Mallya on Wednesday gave a proposal to the Supreme Court to repay around Rs 4,000 crore (Rs 40 billion) loan to banks by September this year.
Mallya had bought the pedigree scotch major, based in Scotland, for $1.2 billion in 2007.
All companies stock price surged on the news that UB Group has reached a deal with the world's largest spirit maker Diageo for a stake sale.
Though the UB Group chairman didn't name anybody, some of these associates could be the owners of Balaji Distilleries, whose breweries and distilleries were acquired by UB Group companies -- United Spirits and United Breweries -- during the last financial year.
If they encash shares, Dutch major Heineken will emerge as single largest shareholder in the company.
A phased roll-out of prohibition will hit revenues of companies, which get 5% of their volume sales from the state
In January, Sebi had barred Mallya and six former officials of USL from securities markets in a case related to illegal fund diversions.
Rising income has allowed consumers to upgrade not just from country liquor to Indian-made foreign liquor, but also to better brands.
SBI approaches Karnataka HC to arrest Mallya, impound passport, disclose full assets
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