Dutch brewer Heineken has made a business move that brings them a lot closer home for us Indians. They have just bought the entire 3.21 per cent stake owned by United Spirits in beer making United Breweries the erstwhile proud owner of Kingfisher beer. Heineken paid Rs 872 crore ($137 million).
Heineken’s stake in the breweries has now increased from 39 per cent to 42.1 per cent, giving them an upper hand over Vijay Mallya.
However, this does not mean Mallya will lose complete control over the firm he spent his life building. He will continue to own 37.5 per cent of the company, and the two partners will have the same shareholder rights.
All in all, it seems the king of good times has hit another bout of misfortune.