Emperador eyes purchase of Whyte & Mackay

Leading brandy maker Emperador Inc., the liquor arm of local conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc., is seen interested to acquire the spirits business of Scottish whisky maker Whyte & Mackay from global premium liquor firm Diageo plc.

In a recent report quoting unnamed sources, newswire Bloomberg said Diageo plc. and AGI had entered into discussions over the potential sale of Whyte & Mackay to the local conglomerate, which owns leading brandy-maker Emperador Inc.

The report estimated that the deal was worth around $675 million.

Asked by Inquirer about his group’s interest in Whyte & Mackay, AGI chair and chief executive officer Andrew Tan said: “Emperador is constantly on the lookout for opportunities to expand its liquor business both domestically and globally.”

Earlier this year, Emperador’s flagship unit Emperador Distillers Inc. announced a partnership deal with Diageo to bring world-class iconic brands to the growing local market.

In 2012, AGI purchased Diageo’s production facilities in Laguna.

The Bloomberg report said Diageo, the world’s biggest distiller, bagged Whyte & Mackay last year after taking over the latter’s Indian parent firm, United Spirits. However, the newswire said Diageo was now unloading most of the business to ease concerns by the UK Office of Fair Trading that the takeover could lead to higher prices of blended whiskey in the United Kingdom.

“I think it should be very good for Emperador because they will have another product to sell. If you read between the lines, they are buying a bulk whiskey maker so that gives them access to raw materials,” said Joseph Roxas, president of local stock brokerage Eagle Equities Inc. “Like Emperador which caters to the Filipino taste, maybe they are trying to do the same for scotch.”

Roxas said the local liquor firm used to have a scotch brand, Andy Player.

If a deal would push through, he said this could be a revival of this business segment for Emperador. He added that the AGI group had sufficient financial muscle to undertake this new offshore acquisition.

Emperador has embarked on an overseas expansion. For the brandy market, its goal is to control about a third of the global market in four years.

In Metro Manila, seven of 10 liquor bottles sold are Emperador.