Whyte & Mackay''s inventory valued at £350-£400 million: Mallya

Vijay Mallya, chairman, UB Goup, said Whyte & Mackay''s inventory is valued at £350 to £400 million pounds. He also said that the acquisition of the Scottish distiller will not result in any job losses and that the company would invest more in Scotland and that scaleability would be a major advantage for the group.

The UB Group had on Tuesday acquired Whyte & Mackay for an enterprise value of £550 million. The deal is valued at 3.3 times FY08 and three times FY09.

The Scottish distiller has debts of Rs1,250 crore and had posted a loss of Rs29 crore in FY05. Its FYO6 profits were 22 million pounds.

Mallya had offered to buy the company for $360-$400 million in October 2006.

United Spirits has received shareholders'' approval to borrow a maximum of Rs10,000 crore.

Whyte & Mackay''s brands include Whyte & Mackay blended scotch, Isle of Jura and Dalmore single malts. The company has a 9 per cent market share in the Scotch whiskey segment.