Emperador completes P31-B buyout of Whyte & Mackay

MANILA, Philippines - Emperador Inc. has completed the acquisition of a 100 percent stake in Whyte & Mackay Group Ltd and its subsidiaries through wholly owned unit Emperador UK Ltd. for a total value of £430 million or P31 billion.

The liquor firm over the weekend said the acquisition agreement, which was signed on May 9 this year, was officially sealed on Oct. 31, 2014.

Whyte & Mackay is considered as the fifth largest maker of Scotch whisky in the world with a history of more than 160 years. It owns some of the most iconic Scotch brands in the industry, including the British luxury brand The Dalmore Single Highland Malt, Jura Premium Single Malt, and Whyte & Mackay Blended Scotch whiskies.

Holding one of the world’s largest aged whisky inventories, Whyte & Mackay has a production capacity of 50 million liters of alcohol per year with five distilleries and one bottling plant in Scotland. 

With the acquisition completed, Andrew Tan said Emperador is looking forward to developing a scotch whisky drinking culture in the Philippines.

“Whisky is the second largest selling liquor category in the world. We are going to officially launch and sell the existing Whyte & Mackay products, especially The Dalmore, Jura and Whyte & Mackay in the Philippines soon,” Tan said.

Last year, Emperador said a bottle of The Dalmore Brilliance, a one-of-a-kind 1926 single malt whisky, set a world record for the highest value sale of an individual liquor globally when it sold for €250,000 or about P15 million in a liquor sale at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

“Emperador Inc. is privileged to bring The Dalmore to the Philippines. It is a very prestigious addition to our product portfolio,” Tan said.

AGI president Kingson Sian said in an earlier interview that the transaction would help Whyte & Mackay strengthen its presence in Asia where Emperador currently has a strong footprint. Whyte & Mackay at present produces a wide range of products sold in more than 50 countries, mainly in Europe and North America.

Emperador’s wholly-owned unit Emperador International Ltd. last week secured a £210-million loan from two international banks, namely the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. and JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A.

The loan will be used for general corporate purposes related to the core business of beverage, the company said.

Emperador is the top selling spirit in the Philippines with a dominant 50-percent share. It is the company behind brands such as Emperador, Generoso and Emperador Light brandies and a line of flavored alcoholic beverages called The Bar.

Its earnings in the third quarter period jumped 15 percent year-on-year to P1.5 billion on the back of stronger volume and higher margins.

The liquor firm currently holds the distinction of having the most technologically-advanced vineyard in Spain, which generates 500 percent higher yield than average Spanish vineyards.