UBL gets shareholders nod for merging 3 group firms

In a move to consolidate its businesses, United Breweries (UBL), today said three of its group firms will be merged into itself in order to have better synergies and enabling cost savings.

The proposal to merge Associated Breweries and Distilleries (ABDL), Millennium Alcobev (MAPL) and Empee Breweries (EBL) has been approved by shareholders as well as secured and unsecured creditors of the company, UBL said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

"There is a need to consolidate the operations/activities of these companies to be carried out by a single entity so as to derive optimal administrative, management and synergy benefits and consequently achieve cost savings, pooling of managerial skills and utilisation of valuable resources by carrying out operations in a single entity," it said.

UBL, however, did not disclose the share swapping agreement between the four firm's shareholders.

While EBL is engaged in manufacture and sale of beer, ABDL and MAPL hold investments in the brewing entities.

The shares of UBL today fell 6.69 per cent and closed at Rs 271.80 a piece on the BSE.