Emperador in talks to buy UK liquor firm

MANILA, Philippines - Emperador Distillers Inc., the hard liquor unit of property tycoon Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global Group Inc., is looking to expand its footprint in the spirits business by acquiring another subsidiary of the world’s biggest premium drinks group.

In a disclosure, Emperador said it has ongoing discussions with United Spirits (Great Britain) Ltd. regarding a plan to buy the Whyte and Mackay spirits business in the United Kingdom.

“No agreement has yet been reached in this regard and Emperador is constantly on the lookout for opportunities to expand its liquor business both domestically and globally,” the company said.

Diageo Plc, which owns United Spirits, partnered with Emperador in March to bring world-famous alcoholic beverages to the Philippines. The new alcohol brands are targeted towards the growing middle class population in the country.

Diageo produces a wide collection of premium spirits, beer and wine. Among these brands include Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Captain Morgan and Guinness, which are sold in more than 180 countries. Emperador is the company behind Emperador, Generoso and Emperador Light brandies and a line of flavored alcoholic beverages called The Bar.

In 2012, EDI bought the Biñan, Laguna production facility from the Philippine unit of Diageo. With the new facility, Emperador targets to increase its production and technical capabilities as it promotes Emperador as a global brand.

Last year, profits of Emperador rose 19 percent to P1.7 billion while consolidated revenues picked up 17 percent to P7.7 billion from P6.6 billion a year ago.

The company has budgeted P4 billion for the expansion of its local bottling facility, which is currently running at 75-percent capacity. Emperador’s goal is to double its sales in the next four years to account a third of the global brandy market.

The liquor firm also invested a total of P5.8 billion in vineyards, distilleries and bodegas in Spain with the acquisition of Bodega San Bruno S.A. It now owns about 1,000 hectares of land, which the company plans to build into vineyards to support its brandy production in Spain.

Emperador is part of Alliance Global Group Inc., which is also into property (Megaworld Group), fastfood (McDonald’s franchise operator Golden Arches Development Corp.) and hotels and casino (Travellers International Hotel Group Inc.)