India?s largest beer maker by sales United Breweries Ltd (UB), which is facing a conflict of interest with Singapore?s Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) for launching its flagship ?Tiger? beer in India, which competes directly with former?s flagship brand Kingfisher?, is pressing for the resolution of the issue with Heineken NV.
?The competition position with APB does need resolution and this will also be on the agenda for discussion (with Heineken),? UB Group CFO Nedungadi told a news agency.
When asked if there is any possibility that United Breweries Ltd may work out a deal wherein which both companies can do business in India, Nedungadi said, ?It is important for both sides to agree on the best way to address the Indian market effectively with all the brands owned and controlled by both corporations.?
Heineken officials confirmed that both UB and Heineken NV were in talks to sort out the issue.
?Presently, we are talking to both, our joint venture in India (APB) and also to UB Group to find a satisfactory solutions for future operations in India,? a Heineken NV spokesperson said . The spokesperson, however, declined to comment further.
Heineken, which inherited UB?s long time partner Scottish and Newcastle Plc?s (S&N?s) 37.5% equity in the Indian company after a global buyout deal in January, also sells beer in India through Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd, in which it owns 42.5%. Asia Pacific Breweries directly competed with UB in the local beer market, which is why UB does not want Heineken on its board.
UB Group had filed suit in the Bombay high court against Heineken and Carlsberg AS-another global brewer that jointly bid for control of S&N in a $15.4 billion global deal-seeking termination of the special rights and privileges granted to S&N, to prevent the new partner using them in the Indian company.
UB is part Vijay Mallya?s liquor conglomerate.
