United Spirits

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United Spirits
Diageo (54.8%)[2]
Websitewww.diageoindia.com

United Spirits Limited, abbreviated to USL, is an Indian alcoholic beverages company, and the world's second-largest spirits company by volume.[3] It is a subsidiary of Diageo, and headquartered at UB Tower in Bangalore, Karnataka. USL exports its products to over 37 countries.[2]

According to the official website of the company, as of March 2013, USL has more than 140 liquor brands, of which 15 brands each sell more than one million cases annually while 3 brands each sell more than 10 million cases annually.[4]

History

The company originated as a trading company called McDowell and Company (also known as McDowell & Co, McDowell or McDowell's), founded in India in 1826 by Angus McDowell, a Scot.

common shares of ₹100 (equivalent to ₹39,000 or US$490 in 2023) each. The company's principal shareholders were A.M. Hooper, G.D. Coleman, and G.A. Ruppell.[6]

The

Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL). The company opened India's first distillation plant to manufacture extra-neutral alcohol (ENA) at Cherthala in 1961. The plant began bottling products for Herbertsons Limited of the Anglo Thai Group that same year. The company launched Golden Grape Brandy, its first original product, in 1962. The company launched McDowell's No.1 Brandy in 1963–64 when their contract with Herbertsons expired. In the early 1960s, the company acquired Carew & Co and Phipson & Co, manufacturers of rum, gin, and other hard liquors in 1963–64.[6]

The company launched

McDowell's No.1 Rum was launched in 1990. McDowell's acquired the spirits business and manufacturing facility of Forbes Campbell & Company Limited. McDowell's formed United Distillers India Limited, India's first joint venture in the alcoholic beverages industry, with United Distillers of the United Kingdom in 1991–92. McDowell's Signature whisky was launched in 1994. In 1995, Carew Phipson Limited, Consolidated Distilleries Ltd, and several other companies were merged into McDowell's.[6] The company was incorporated as McDowell Spirits Ltd in 1999. The name was changed to McDowell & Company Ltd on 1 April 2000. McDowell Alcobev became a wholly owned subsidiary of McDowell & Company in 2002. In the same year, the company acquired Phipson Distillery, McDowell International Brands Ltd, and most of Triumph Distilleries & Vinters Pvt Ltd. McDowell launched Derby Special Whisky in 2003 and Old Cask rum in 2004.[7]

On 21 March 2005, McDowell & Company entered into an agreement with Jumbo World Holdings Limited (JWHL) in Dubai to acquire Shaw Wallace.[8][9] The board of Shaw Wallace approved the merger of the company with USL and fixed the appointed date of the merger as 1 April 2008 subject to approvals.[10] In 2006, McDowell & Co Limited, Herbertsons Limited, Triumph Distillers and Vintners Private Limited, Baramati Grape Industries India Limited, Shaw Wallace Distilleries Limited and four other companies are merged to form United Spirits Limited. Bouvet Ladubay, a subsidiary of France-based Taittinger was acquired the same year.[6]

The UB Group purchased Whyte & Mackay in May 2007 for £595 million.[11] USL also acquired Liquidity Inc., makers of Pinky Vodka, in 2007. USL launched Black Dog 18 YO and Four Seasons Barrique Reserve in 2009–10, and McDowell's No 1 Platinum, 100% grain-based whisky, in 2011.[6]

On 27 May 2013, Diageo acquired a 10% stake in United Spirits at a cost of ₹20,927,196,000 (US$260 million). It also separately acquired an additional 58,668 shares for ₹ 85,778,082.[12] On 4 July 2013, Diageo bought an additional 14.98% of the company for ₹31.35 billion (US$390 million). Diageo acquired an additional 21.77 million shares at a cost of ₹1,440 (US$18) per share in an off-market deal from United Spirits' promoters, raising its holdings to 25.02 percent of the company.[13][14] Following that purchase, Diageo held 36.3 million shares in USL, acquired at a cost of ₹52,358.5 million (US$660 million),[15] making it the largest shareholder.[16] Under pressure from Diageo, some substantial changes to the management structure of the firm began to take place in 2013.[17]

In 2014, Diageo's shareholdings rose to 54.8% of USL.[2]

In early 2014, Whyte & Mackay, which had been purchased by UB Group in 2007, was sold to

Emperador for £430 million.[18]

On 5 November 2017, the Paradise Papers, a set of confidential electronic documents relating to offshore investment, revealed that United Spirits with three other subsidiaries based in the UK were allegedly involved with diverting funds amounting to $1.5 billion.[19]

Technical centre

The USL technical centre was opened in 1989 in Bangalore, and is recognised by the

Research & Development laboratory.[20]

United Spirits brands

USL manufactures Indian whisky, Scotch whisky, brandy, rum, vodka, gin and wine.[21]

Distillery locations

USL owns several distilleries throughout India, and also owns one unit in Nepal. Besides these, USL also has several contract and associate distilleries in India, and one in Nepal.[23]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "United Spirits Ltd. Financial Statements". moneycontrol.com.
  2. ^ a b c "About Us > USL at a Glance". Unitedspirits.in. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  3. ^ M Padmakshan (25 January 2010). "USL's now world's No 2 spirit co, replaces Pernod". The Economic Times. ET Bureau. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  4. ^ "United Spirits Limited (USL) - Who We Are | About Us". Unitedspirits.in. 31 March 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Diageo bottles Mallya genie". Telegraphindia.com. 10 November 2012. Archived from the original on 27 July 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "UB Group supplement with April 2011 issue" (PDF). Ambrosia. April 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2013. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ^ United Spirits Ltd Background details about Company Profile. Indiainfoline.com. Retrieved on 23 December 2013.
  8. The Telegraph. 22 March 2005. Archived from the original
    on 12 July 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  9. The Telegraph. 25 April 2008. Archived from the original
    on 12 July 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  10. ^ "Shaw Wallace board okays merger with USL". The Hindu. 30 November 2007. Archived from the original on 2 December 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  11. ^ "Whisky giant sold to billionaire". BBC News. 16 May 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  12. ^ "Diageo increases stake in United Spirits". Stock Market Wire. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  13. ^ "United Spirits hits record high on change of guard". Business Standard. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  14. ^ "Diageo winds up with 25 pct stake in United Spirits". Reuters. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  15. ^ "Diageo ends with 25% in United Spirits". Telegraphindia.com. 5 July 2013. Archived from the original on 27 July 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  16. ^ "Diageo completes stake acquisition in United Spirits". Big News Network. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  17. Times of India
    , 13 August 2013.
  18. ^ "BBC News – Philippines firm Emperador buys Whyte & Mackay for £430m". BBC News. 9 May 2014.
  19. Quartz India
    . Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  20. ^ "About us > Technical Center". United Spirits Limited. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  21. ^ "Brands". United Spirits Limited. Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  22. ^ UB Global. UB Global. Retrieved on 23 December 2013.
  23. ^ "About Us > Distilleries". Unitedspirits.in. Retrieved 27 July 2013.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_Spirits&oldid=1216742051"