India's United Breweries Buys Scottish Whyte And Mackay

Indian liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya's United Breweries Group announced Wednesday that it had acquired 100 percent of Scottish Scottish whisky distiller Whyte and Mackay in a 595 million pounds (1.2 billion dollars) deal.

"The company sees significant revenue growth from this acquisition of Whyte and Mackay," said the company statement.

This key acquisition is a strategic move that would help the UB Group add Scotch whisky to its portfolio of products and help expand the market for Whyte and Mackay brands in India and emerging markets, the UB Group said in a statement.

"In particular, the UB Group will provide access to India and other large emerging markets, allowing an acceleration of Whyte and Mackay's growth plans," it added.

The Scottish company owns popular brands such as Whyte & Mackay Scotch Whisky, Isle of Jura, the Dalmore, Fettercairn, Glavya and Vladivar Vodka.

"The potential for premium Scotch whisky in India is enormous and, with the acquisition of Whyte and Mackay, we now have a strong portfolio of internationally recognized brands that we will immediately introduce into the Indian market and use our strong distribution muscle fully to our advantage," Mallya was quoted as saying by PTI news agency.