John Distilleries, manufacturers of the Original Choice brand of liquor, said the company is looking at private equity partners to raise close to Rs 200 crore to overhaul its capital structure, manufacturing capacities and branding. It is looking at finalising a deal in the first quarter of next fiscal.
?Over 20 PE firms have expressed interest in us, including all the big names and we will be finalising by first quarter next year,? Asif Adil, vice-chairman & CEO of the company. John Distilleries is also looking to expand the footprint of its flagship brand across the country in the next fiscal, he said. ?We are looking at expanding all across the country barring UP and Gujarat. Currently, we are in 14 states, and we are looking at expanding our presence to 12 additional states in the next 9-12 months,? Adil told FE. Presently, the Original Choice range of products, which included whiskey, rum and brandy, contributed 85-90% to the revenue of the company.
Adil said the company would also look at expanding the reach of its complete range of products across India, with the exception of its newly launched brandy Mont Castle, which it would restrict to the South Indian market. ?Starting with Karnataka, we will take Mont Castle to Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry, Kerala and Tamil Nadu but we will not be introducing it in other geographies at the moment. South India has always been a market leader for brandy,? he said.