The Hindu Business Line : Vangal leads group to bid for Shaw Wallace liquor business

THE founder Chairman of Scandant Group, Mr Ramesh Vangal, who rekindled his liquor business interests recently, is leading a consortium of investors to bid for Shaw Wallace & Co's liquor business, which is on the block.

A successful bid could push Mr Vangal, a strategic investor himself, back to the centre-stage of the Indian liquor industry.

When contacted, Mr Vangal said he could not comment on the matter. Informed sources said Mr Vangal's consortium was a serious contender and had been conducting due diligence on Shaw Wallace's liquor business, which is the second largest in the country with annual sales volume of nearly 15 million cases.

However, the constituents of Mr Vangal's consortium could not be confirmed even though the names of foreign funds with large exposure to Asian markets were doing the rounds.

The Dubai-based Jumbo Group has mandated McKinsey Singapore to call for bids to decide on the future of Shaw Wallace's liquor business, which owns popular whisky brands such as Royal Challenge, Director's Special, Antiquity and Haywards.

Mr Vangal had earlier steered trans-national liquor giant Seagram into the country, and exited that company by selling his strategic minority stake when it went into the fold of the French drinks giant Groupe Pernod Ricard, as part of a worldwide transaction.

Mr Vangal returned to the liquor industry recently when he floated the Bangalore-based Katra Liquor, with the top management drawn from companies such as Seagram. Later, Katra was renamed as Mason & Summers Alcobev as it entered into a long-term deal with Scotland's Inver House, one of the largest independent suppliers of bulk scotch in the world.

Mr Vangal said he was bullish on the potential and possibilities in the Indian liquor market, as he makes a serious effort to leave a mark in his second innings.

More Stories on : Mergers & Acquisitions | Breweries

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page