The Hindu Business Line : UB not to give IMFL rights of Marco Polo brand to Katra

THE UB group has decided against giving the Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) rights of Marco Polo brand to Katra Liquor, a start-up venture funded by Mr Ramesh Vangal.

UB was engaged in talks with Katra to handover the marketing and distributions rights of Marco Polo's IMFL business, while retaining the use of the brand in the beer market.

Informed sources said the deal has fallen through after the UB group Chairman, Mr Vijay Mallya, decided to keep the IMFL business of the brand with any of the group companies including McDowell & Co Ltd and Triumph Distillers & Vintners (TDV).

The deal was at a fairly advanced stage before it unravelled, and Katra had already entered into contract bottling arrangement for a fresh roll out of Marco Polo in Tamil Nadu, which is the strongest turf for the brand. UB sources had confirmed to Business Line (March 13) that talks were taking place for a possible transaction.

It must be mentioned that UB group through Millennium Alcobev Ltd (MABL) had acquired Marco Polo when it took over the brewing arm of the Chennai-based Empee Distilleries Ltd for Rs 112 crore in 2002. MABL has been operating Marco Polo as a regional beer even as the brand's IMFL business has been hibernating for a while.

Marco Polo, which straddles flavour segments such as whisky, rum and gin, has substantial equity in Tamil Nadu and some other pockets in the south and generated monthly volume of about 60,000 cases, sources said.

A successful deal making with UB would have provided Katra with easy access to Tamil Nadu liquor market, the second largest in the country, as Marco Polo is registered with Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation, which controls wholesale and retail liquor trade.

Tamil Nadu remains a closed market for many IMFL companies as it has been selective in brand registration and insists on local bottling.

Katra Liquor, which marks Mr Vangal's return to spirits industry, is headed by Mr Kaushik Chatterjee and currently has team strength of nearly 30 people. It recently made the first move in the market with the launch of Wild Horse whisky, rum and brandy.

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