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Shaw Wallace to shift regd office to Mumbai

Badal Sanyal

KOLKATA, Sept. 19

IN a major corporate restructuring exercise, Shaw Wallace & Company (SWC) proposes to shift its registered office from the city to Mumbai and to sell, lease, transfer and/or dispose of the company's three manufacturing units, namely Bengal Distilleries, Andhra Wineries and Dorburg Lager Breweries. This apart, it has plans to float a new joint venture company in the name of Shaw Wallace International Ltd (SWIL)

SWC also proposes to make investments in Maharashtra Distilleries Ltd and SKOL Breweries Ltd by conversion of its advances receivable from the respective subsidiaries into equity/ preference shares. Such investment would be up to a maximum of about Rs 10 crore in each of the subsidiaries .

The shifting of its 115-year old registered office from the city and disposing of the company's first distillery, which is also situated in West Bengal, seem to be giving a signal that the Dubai-based NRI, Mr M.R. Chhabria, who directly and indirectly co ntrols more than 50 per cent in SWC, is no more interested in running his flagship company in India from the ``City of Joy''.

A special resolution proposing to shift the registered office is to be placed before the shareholders at the company's forthcoming annual general meeting for approvals. The resolution explains that the company's operations are currently controlled from M umbai and shifting of the registered office will enable the company to carry on its business more economically and efficiently.

Since it is a special resolution, the company will require full support from the FIs which jointly control more than 25 per cent of the company's total equity.

The proposals in regard to disposing of and/or transferring three manufacturing units, conversion of receivable in Maharashtra Distillery and SKOL Breweries into equity/preference shares and formation of a new joint venture company abroad may be passed b y majority votes since all these resolutions are ordinary in nature.

As explained in the notice circulated to shareholders in connection with the company's 55th AGM, the management of SWC has stated that the company was prosing to float a new wholly-owned overseas joint venture subsidiary at British Virgin Islands or any other tax haven to enable it to globalise the business of liquor and beer by making inroads into new territories and to act as a nerve centre for the overseas distribution of the products produced by the Group.

The investment for the venture was to be made from the EEFC (Export Earners' Foreign Currency) account of the company and/or under Fast Track Window Scheme of the Reserve Bank of India, and the investable amount would be maximum of Rs 2 crore.

Meanwhile, Mr Chhabria, Chairman of SWC, in his review report, has stated that the first phase of the company's restructuring exercise and the consequent merger of large number of investment subsidiaries were complete. The manufacturing subsidiaries were now held through just two operating subsidiaries, one each for liquor and beer.