Emperador international unit gets 310-M euro loan

MANILA  -Tycoon Andrew Tan’s Emperador Inc. said its global liquor group secured fresh financing to the tune of 310 million euros as it aggressively expands overseas.

The loan was secured by wholly owned subsidiary Emperador International Ltd., which owns investments in Spain and the United Kingdom such as Bodegas Fundador and Whyte and Mackay Group.

“The loan shall be used to refinance the amounts outstanding under an existing facility agreement entered into by [Emperador International] as borrower,” Emperador said in a stock exchange filing on Friday.

The financing, which will have a tenor of three years and is extendable up to five years, was provided by Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd and Cooperatieve Rabobank U.S., Singapore branch.

The Philippine and Singapore listed liquor giant said it would also guarantee the loan alongside Emperador Distillers Inc.

This comes as Emperador announced major expansion plans for whisky, which includes the construction of a larger whisky maturation complex at its Invergordon Distillery in Scotland. This was also part of the Emperador’s full-year expansion budget of P7 billion, the bulk of which will allocated for whisky.

Emperador is gearing for growth as it targets increasing demand in markets such as the United States, China and India. INQ