Kishore Chhabria-promoted Allied Blenders and Distillers (ABD), the maker of premium liquor brands such as Officer’s Choice, plans to set up a new distillery in the eastern region and is also looking to acquire three more brands.
The Mumbai-based company had filed a draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for an initial stake stale to the public. It is planning to raise about Rs 2,000 crore through the initial public offering (IPO).
“Eastern states, especially Assam and Bengal, are our important markets. Currently, we have a distillery in Telangana and the state is one of our major revenue contributors. For the second distillery, we have identified the location but cannot divulge the details now,” ABD executive deputy chairman and CEO Shekhar Ramamurthy told FE in an interaction.
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“We need to focus on all geographies,” he added.
Besides the distilling unit in Telangana, ABD has nine bottling units and 20 non-owned manufacturing units.
The country’s largest Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) manufacturer will use part of the proceeds from its IPO for expansion. It will also pare debt, which stands at a little over `700 crore. “Following the IPO, we intend to be net debt-free,” Ramamurthy said.
The company, which has 15 brands, is looking to acquire three more, while it looks at premiumisation of products. Ramamurthy declined to comment on the acquisition plans.
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“We believe it is the right time to focus on premiumisation and we are ready with organic and inorganic strategies to strengthen our brand portfolio. The company will increasingly go deeper into the whiskey market by launching new categories of whiskey in line with consumer demand and new consumer trends,” he said.
Whiskey constitutes almost 65% of the Indian spirit market. It was valued at $15 billion in FY20 and is expected to touch $22 billion by FY25, according to a recent study. This growth is expected to be driven by premiumisation.
The company recently launched three whiskey brands: Sterling Reserve B7 Whisky Cola Mix, Srishti Premium Blended Whisky and ICONiQ White. Sterling Reserve B7 Whisky Cola Mix was launched in Assam and will be available nationally this season. The other two brands were first launched online — on ABD MetaBar — and will land in physical markets soon.
“We have been launching states-specific products, but now we would look at launching with a national appeal.”