Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Saturday, Feb 02, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Saturday, Feb 02, 2002 |
|
|
|
|
|
Corporate
-
Corporate Disputes Herbertsons issue -- Mallya, Chhabria may bury hatchet Badal Sanyal
KOLKATA, Feb. 1 THE protracted battle between Mr Vijay Mallya and Mr Kishore Chhabria over management control of Herbertsons Ltd, producer of the Bagpiper brand of whisky and rum, seems to be drawing to an amicable close because both believe that they have been wasting valuable time and resources on litigation in the last couple of years. Sources indicate that Mr Mallya and Mr Chhabria have agreed in principle to settle the dispute on mutually acceptable terms. It is believed that Mr Chhabria may exit from the Herbertsons board, along with the ownership of BDA Ltd, which is currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of Herbertsons Ltd and the producer of the Officer's Choice brand of whisky. The sources indicate that Mr Chhabria is keen on expanding quickly by launching a different range of liquor products under the Officer's Choice brand. Being the Chairman of BDA Ltd, he has already initiated a move to launch a new range of products. Close on the heels of the launch of a brandy and rum under the Officer's Choice umbrella, BDA recently launched in Kolkata a deluxe category named `Officer's Choice Blue' whisky. The volume of the whisky market responding to this category generally in the eastern region is estimated to be about 10 lakh cases in 2001-02. The company expects to wrest about 10 per cent of the market share during the first year of the launch. Incidentally, this particular brand of whisky is being bottled in West Bengal. Currently, BDA manufactures products of six ranges from 17 tie-up units in 17 different States. It has applied for a registration to manufacture liquor in Tamil Nadu. According to BDA sources, the company has plans to enter manufacturing and marketing of beer, wine and mineral water. It is negotiating with a French liquor company for a tie-up to market its scotch whisky in India. About a decade ago, BDA Ltd became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hertbertsons Ltd, the mutual arrangement reportedly being that Mr Chhabria would hold a 26 per cent share in Hertbertsons. But, subsequently, Mr Chhabria mopped up Hertbertsons shares from the market with the objective of establishing control over the company. The purchase of additional shares by Mr Chhabria was not accepted by Mr Mallya. The share purchase issue had eventually forced both of them to take legal action.
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail
|
Stories in this Section |
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | Home |
Copyright © 2002, The
Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu Business Line
|