By Cris Larano
MANILA-- Emperador Inc. said Monday it agreed to acquire whisky
maker Whyte & Mackay Group Ltd. from India's United Spirits
Ltd. for GBP430 million ($726 million) in cash, a deal that
dovetails with the Philippine liquor producer's plan to expand its
global footprint.
Emperador said the deal, which is still subject to regulators
and United Spirits shareholders' approval, would be "immediately
accretive" to its earnings and give it access to the
seconnd-fastest growing spirits segment after brandy. Emperador is
one of the biggest producers of brandy in the world.
United Spirits unveiled the deal Friday. India's top spirits
maker acquired Whyte & Mackay, which makes Jura and Dalmore
whiskies and is based in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2007 for GBP595
million.
Emperador's purchase of Whyte & Mackay would rank as the
second-biggest outbound Philippine acquisition on record after San
Miguel Corp.'s $1.5 billion purchase of National Foods Ltd.,
Dealogic data showed. San Miguel's acquisition of the Australian
food company was completed in December 2004.
The acquisition also would be the biggest in the Philippines so
far this year and the sixth largest in Asia during that period,
according to Dealogic data.
The deal follows U.K. liquor company Diageo PLC's renewed effort
to acquire a majority stake in United Spirits. In April, it offered
United Spirits shareholders 3,030 rupees a share, hoping to boost
its stake in the Indian company to 55% from around 29%.
In November, the U.K. Office of Fair Trading said it was
concerned Diageo's planned acquisition of United Spirits could lead
to higher whisky prices because the British company would end up
with such a large slice of the market. Diageo subsequently offered
to sell Whyte & Mackay.
Diageo executives see United Spirits as a way to break into the
lucrative low-end whisky market, which accounts for more than half
of the spirit's total sales in India. United Spirits controls about
40% of the Indian spirits market, making it by far the biggest
producer.
"With this acquisition," Andrew Tan, chairman of Emperador and
one of the wealthiest men in the Philippines, according to Forbes
magazine, said in a statement. "Emperador will be exposed to two of
the faster growing spirits segments in the world."
He said the Whyte & Mackay acquisition is part of an overall
strategy "to enhance shareholder value through earnings accretive
investments."
Just last week, Emperador said it plans raise as much as $465
million through a capital-raising exercise in the debt market to
bankroll its expansion plans, including potential acquisitions. The
company ended 2013 with cash of around 24 billion Philippine pesos
($547 million).
Emperador said it expects the global expansion to help drive its
net profit by 2017 to double the 2013 level of 5.8 billion
pesos.
Mr. Tan said Whyte & Mackay is a "prized asset" that offer
growth opportunities given its global distribution network in more
than 50 countries. He said Emperador could access Whyte &
Mackay's network to expand the distribution of its other
products.
In February, the company said it would acquire 50% of Spanish
brandy maker Bodega Las Copas for $83 million. Last year, Emperador
said it would spend $132 million on vineyards and acquiring brandy
stock.
Sean McLain in New Delhi contributed to this article.
Write to Cris Larano at cris.larano@wsj.com
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