UB to be world's No. 1 spirits firm soon: Mallya

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya said on Wednesday that his UB Group will overtake Diageo as the world's largest spirits maker by the next fiscal. "This (fiscal) we will be selling 102 million cases of nine litres each. Next year we will be the single largest spirits company in the world," Vijay Mallya said.

He, however, did not elaborate how many million cases the group will sell in the next fiscal.

Currently, Diageo is the world's largest spirits maker and sold around 105 million cases last year.

Sharing his optimism, he said: "Bagpiper Whisky which I launched in 1979 as a trainee has taken over the largest selling whisky Johnny Walker in the world."

The UB Group has been scaling up its business through both organic and inorganic strategy in the quest for the top spot. In 2005, United Breweries acquired Shaw Wallace & Co, following which it was merged with the group's flagship company USL last year.

In 2007, UB Group company, United Spirits acquired Scotch whiskey major White & Mackay for 595 million pounds (about Rs 4,800 crore).

Lamenting the high taxes that are slapped on the spirits industry, Mallya said: "UB alone as single company has contributed Rs 15,000 crore as taxes in the last fiscal."