Tilaknagar onboards Pernod staff in Imperial Blue deal
Indian brandy giant Tilaknagar Industries has completed the acquisition of Imperial Blue whisky from Pernod Ricard India and will take on more than 100 staff members as part of the transaction.
Tilaknagar released a statement on Monday (1 December) announcing that its purchase of Imperial Blue, India’s third largest whisky brand, had been completed.
The sale cost a lump sum of Rs 3,442 crore, plus a deferred payment of €28m to be paid within four years of the transaction date.
Tilaknagar has funded the acquisition through a mix of internal cash accruals, fresh equity and external debt.
Tilaknagar Industries and Pernod Ricard India first announced the pending sale in July when they two companies entered into a definitive agreement of transaction.
Now that the sale is complete, Tilaknagar has secured the Imperial Blue brand as well as its associated trademarks, including Imperial Black and Imperial Red, on a global scale. The company has also entered into a trademark license agreement that allows the use of Seagram’s in connection with the brand for a specified transition period.
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Tilaknagar has also signed a long-term supply agreement with Chivas Brothers, Pernod Ricard’s Scotch whisky arm, for concentrated alcoholic beverages, said to be a key raw material used to produce Imperial Blue.
To support the transition, Tilaknagar has also established a manufacturing agreement with Pernod Ricard India.
The manufacturing operations included in this transaction comprise two owned facilities located in Punjab and Maharashtra, as well as two exclusively sub-leased units in Telangana and Punjab. Additionally, Tilaknagar will have access to specific shared facilities.
As part of the transaction, Tilaknagar will take on 116 staff previously employed by Pernod Ricard.
Amit Dahanukar, chairman and managing director of Tilaknagar Industries, said: “The acquisition of Imperial Blue significantly scales up our business, representing a decisive step in our ambition to build a truly pan-India presence across all Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) categories.
“This acquisition also accelerates our premiumisation journey, enabling us to broaden our offerings across prestige-and-above price-points and enhance the value we deliver to consumers.”
