United Spirits has received its board’s approval to sell Glasgow-based liquor company -- Whyte & Mackay. The said decision comes on the heels of a ruling by the UK’s anti-trust regulator, Office of Fair Trading, which said that as both Diageo and Whyte & Mackay supply blended bottled whisky, there could be a loss of competition, giving rise to higher prices for retailers and consumers.
United Spirits is now controlled by British liquor major Diageo and with the sale of Whyte & Mackay, Diageo could fetch around $1 billion.
Whyte & Mackay has been steadily making profits over the last few years. In 2012-13, its pre-tax profits rose nearly 28 per cent to 34 million pound while revenues increased 16 per cent to 263 million pound.
