Philippines' Emperador Confirms Deal for Whyte & Mackay -- 3rd Update

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 second-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, Emperador will be exposed to two of the faster growing spirits segments in the world," Andrew Tan, chairman of the company, said in a statement. He is among the wealthiest people in the Philippines, according to Forbes magazine.

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 [e-mail]

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