Heineken raises stake in Kingfisher beer owner United Breweries Limited

Heineken N.V. has increased its stake in United Breweries Limited (UBL), an Indian brewing company, which was formerly owned by fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, to 61.5%.

The Dutch drinks company acquired an additional 39,644,346 shares in the Indian beer producer. Prior to this, Heineken N.V. had a stake of 46.5% in United Breweries Limited.

The consideration for the stake is worth INR 58.1 billion ($781.3 million), reported Business Today based on United Breweries Limited’s closing price of INR 1,466 per share.

Heineken raises stake in Kingfisher beer owner United Breweries Limited. Photo courtesy of Dudva/Wikimedia Commons.

Following Vijay Mallya’s exit from India, banks in the country which had lent him loans took over possession of the stake in United Breweries Limited, which owns the Kingfisher beer brand.

Heineken had originally acquired a stake of 37.5% United Breweries Limited through its acquisition of Scottish & Newcastle in 2008.

The latest stake acquisition of Heineken N.V. has been approved by the Competition Commission of India.