<p>The board of United Spirits Limited (USL) has approved a plan to sell Whyte and Mackay Ltd (W&M), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, in a bid to allay anti-trust concerns raised by the UK’s Office of Fair Trading following USL’s plans to sell a strategic shareholding in the company to Diageo Plc.<br /><br /></p>.<p>In a filing to BSE on Thursday, USL said its board “proposes to initiate a process, based on the outline timetable provided under UK law in connection with the decision of the Office of Fair Trading, to explore a potential sale of W&M.”<br /><br />The company said that its board has nominated “certain persons” to evaluate possibilities and structures in relation to a potential sale of W&M, and identify potential buyers.<br /><br />The UK Office of Fair Trading had said in November last year that Diageo, the maker of whiskies like Johnnie Walker and Bell’s, which bought a 25.02 per cent stake in United Spirits in July, had offered to sell a majority of the W&M business after the regulator raised concerns about the impact of the United Spirits deal on UK whisky prices. <br /><br />The USL board also approved the amalgamation of its wholly-owned subsidiaries Tern Distilleries Pvt Ltd and SW Finance Co Ltd (formerly Shaw Wallace Breweries Ltd) with itself.<br /><br />Tern Distilleries was referred to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), which had declared it a sick company and and ordered filing of the Draft Rehabilitation Scheme. As part of the scheme, Tern was proposed to amalgamate with USL, its parent company.<br /></p>
<p>The board of United Spirits Limited (USL) has approved a plan to sell Whyte and Mackay Ltd (W&M), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, in a bid to allay anti-trust concerns raised by the UK’s Office of Fair Trading following USL’s plans to sell a strategic shareholding in the company to Diageo Plc.<br /><br /></p>.<p>In a filing to BSE on Thursday, USL said its board “proposes to initiate a process, based on the outline timetable provided under UK law in connection with the decision of the Office of Fair Trading, to explore a potential sale of W&M.”<br /><br />The company said that its board has nominated “certain persons” to evaluate possibilities and structures in relation to a potential sale of W&M, and identify potential buyers.<br /><br />The UK Office of Fair Trading had said in November last year that Diageo, the maker of whiskies like Johnnie Walker and Bell’s, which bought a 25.02 per cent stake in United Spirits in July, had offered to sell a majority of the W&M business after the regulator raised concerns about the impact of the United Spirits deal on UK whisky prices. <br /><br />The USL board also approved the amalgamation of its wholly-owned subsidiaries Tern Distilleries Pvt Ltd and SW Finance Co Ltd (formerly Shaw Wallace Breweries Ltd) with itself.<br /><br />Tern Distilleries was referred to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), which had declared it a sick company and and ordered filing of the Draft Rehabilitation Scheme. As part of the scheme, Tern was proposed to amalgamate with USL, its parent company.<br /></p>
