United Spirits - Wikipedia United Spirits United Spirits Type Public Traded as Template : BomExchange NSE : MCDOWELL - N Industry Alcoholic beverage Predecessor McDowell and Company Founded Fort St. George, Madras, Madras Presidency, British India ( 1826 ( 1826 ) ) Founder Angus McDowell Headquarters UB Tower, No. 24, Vittal Mallya Road, Bangalore, Karnataka, India Area served Worldwide Key people Mahendra Kumar Sharma ( Chairman ) and Anand Kripalu ( MD & CEO ) Parent Diageo ( 54.8 % ) Website unitedspirits.in United Spirits Limited, abbreviated to USL, is an Indian alcoholic beverages company, and the world 's second - largest spirits company by volume. It is a subsidiary of Diageo, and headquartered at UB Tower in Bangalore, Karnataka. USL exports its products to over 37 countries. According to the official website of the company, as of March 2013, USL has more than 140 liquor brands, of which 15 brands each sell more than one million cases annually while 3 brands each sell more than 10 million cases annually. Contents 1 History 2 Technical centre 3 Brands 4 Distillery locations 5 References 6 External links History The company originated as a trading company called McDowell and Company ( also known as McDowell & Co, McDowell or McDowell 's ), founded in India in 1826 by Angus McDowell, a Scot. He set up a warehouse near Fort St. George, Madras ( now Chennai ). The company imported liquor, tobacco products, and other consumer goods into India to serve the needs of British people stationed there. McDowell & Company Limited was incorporated as a company in 1898, with an initial capital of ₹ 8 lakh ( US $12,000 ) as 4,000 preferred shares and 4,000 common shares of ₹ 100 ( US $1.50 ) each. The company 's principal shareholders were A.M. Hooper, G.D. Coleman, and G.A. Ruppell. The Vittal Mallya - run United Breweries Group bought McDowell and Company in 1951. In 1959, Mallya established the company 's first distillery at Cherthala, Kerala on the banks of the Vembanad lake. McDowell 's began bottling Bisquit Brandy and Dorville French Brandy, from imported concentrates, becoming the first company to manufacture Indian Made Foreign Liquor ( IMFL ). The company opened India 's first distillation plant to manufacture extra neutral alcohol ( ENA ) at Cherthala in 1961. The plant began bottling products for Herbertsons Limited of the Anglo Thai Group that same year. The company launched Golden Grape Brandy, its first original product, in 1962. The company launched McDowell 's No. 1 Brandy in 1963 -- 64 when their contract with Herbertsons expired. In the early 1960s, the company acquired Carew & Co and Phipson & Co, manufacturers of rum, gin, and other hard liquors. in 1963 -- 64. The company launched McDowell 's No. 1 whisky in 1968, and commissioned new distilleries in Hyderabad, Ponda ( Goa ), and Hathidah ( Bihar ) over the next few years. In the late 1970s, distilleries were acquired in Udaipur, Alwar, Mirganj, and Serampore, and a plant was built in Pondicherry. The company bought out Herbertsons in 1973. Mallya 's son, Vijay Mallya, took over as director of McDowell 's the same year, and assumed chairmanship of UB Group and McDowell 's after Vittal Mallya died in 1983. McDowell 's moved its headquarters from Madras to Bangalore in 1987. The company established a technical centre for product and process development research in Bangalore in 1989. McDowell 's No. 1 Rum was launched in 1990. McDowell 's acquired the spirits business and manufacturing facility of Forbes Campbell & Company Limited. McDowell 's formed United Distillers India Limited, India 's first joint venture in the alcoholic beverages industry, with United Distillers of the United Kingdom in 1991 -- 92. McDowell 's Signature whisky was launched in 1994. In 1995, Carew Phipson Limited, Consolidated Distilleries Ltd and several other companies were merged into McDowell 's. The company was incorporated as McDowell Sprits Ltd in 1999. The name was changed to McDowell & Company Ltd on 1 April 2000. McDowell Alcobev became a wholly owned subsidiary of McDowell & Company in 2002. In the same year, the company acquired Phipson Distilley, McDowell International Brands Ltd, and most of Triumph Distilleries & Vinters Pvt Ltd. McDowell launched Derby Special Whisky in 2003 and Old Cask rum in 2004. On 21 March 2005, McDowell & Company entered into an agreement with Jumbo World Holdings Limited ( JWHL ) in Dubai to acquire Shaw Wallace. The board of Shaw Wallace approved the merger of the company with USL and fixed the appointed date of the merger as 1 April 2008 subject to approvals. In 2006, McDowell & Co Limited, Herbertsons Limited, Triumph Distillers and Vintners Private Limited, Baramati Grape Industries India Limited, Shaw Wallace Distilleries Limited and four other companies are merged to form United Spirits Limited. Bouvet Ladubay, subsidiary of France - based Taittinger was acquired, the same year. The UB Group purchased Whyte & Mackay in May 2007 for £ 595 million. USL also acquired Liquidity Inc., makers of Pinky Vodka, in 2007. USL launched Black Dog 18 YO and Four Seasons Barrique Reserve in 2009 -- 10, and McDowell 's No 1 Platinum, 100 % grain based whisky, in 2011. On 27 May 2013, Diageo acquired a 10 % stake in United Spirits at a cost of ₹ 20,927,196,000 ( US $310 million ). It also separately acquired an additional 58,668 shares for ₹ 85,778,082. On 4 July 2013, Diageo bought an additional 14.98 % of the company for ₹ 31.35 billion ( US $470 million ). Diageo acquired an additional 21.77 million shares at a cost of ₹ 1,440 ( US $21 ) per share in an off - market - deal from United Spirits ' promoters, raising its holdings to 25.02 per cent of the company. Following that purchase, Diageo held 36.3 million shares in USL, acquired at a cost of ₹ 52,358.5 million ( US $780 million ), making it the largest shareholder. Under pressure from Diageo, some substantial changes to the management structure of the firm began to take place in 2013. In 2014, Diageo 's share holdings rose to 54.8 % of USL. In early 2014, Whyte & Mackay, which had been purchased by UB Group in 2007, was sold to Philippines - based Emperador for £ 430 million. In 5 November 2017, the Paradise Papers, a set of confidential electronic documents relating to offshore investment, revealed that United Spirits with three other subsidiaries based in the UK were allegedly involved with diverting funds amounting to $1.5 billion. Technical centre The USL technical centre was opened in 1989 in Bangalore, and is recognised by the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research ( DSIR ) as an in - house Research & Development laboratory. Brands USL manufactures Scotch whisky, Indian whisky, brandy, rum, vodka, gin and wine. Indian whisky Antiquity Bagpiper McDowell 's No. 1 McDowell 's No. 1 Platinum McDowell 's Single Malt Royal Challenge Signature Scotch whisky Brandy McDowell 's VSOP McDowell 's VSOP Rum McDowell 's No. 1 Celebration Vodka Pinky Romanov Vladivar White Mischief Gin Blue Riband Wine Four Seasons Distillery locations USL owns several distilleries throughout India, and also owns one unit in Nepal. Besides these, USL also has several contract and associate distilleries in India, and one in Nepal. USL units Malkajgiri, Hyderabad, Telangana Nacharam, Hyderabad, Telangana Hathidah, Bihar Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh Bethora - Ponda, Goa Palwal, Haryana Baddi, Himachal Pradesh Nandoor K, Gulbarga Hospet, Karnataka Kumbalgodu, Bangalore, Karnataka Cherthala, Kerala Palakkad, Kerala Pondicherry Aurangabad, Maharashtra Baramati, Maharashtra Nasik, Maharashtra Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Khurda, Odisha Pathankot, Punjab Alwar, Rajasthan Udaipur, Rajasthan Meerut, Uttar Pradesh Rosa, Shahjahanpur district, Uttar Pradesh Asansol, West Bengal Bhadrakali, West Bengal Serampore, West Bengal Biratnagar, Nepal ( as McDowell Nepal Ltd ) Contract and associate units Rhizome Distilleries Pvt. Ltd ( Hyderabad, Telangana ) Esveear Dist ( Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh ) Continental Distillery ( Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh ) North East Distilleries Pvt Ltd ( Guwahati, Assam ) Surma Distillery Pvt Ltd ( Silchar, Assam ) MTM Wines & Bottlers Pvt Limited ( Naharlagun, Arunachal Pradesh ) Chitwan Blenders & Bottlers Pvt Ltd ( Bihar ) Salson Liquors Pvt Ltd ( Bihar ) Aegis Beverages ( P ) Ltd ( Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh ) Khemani Distilleries Pvt Ltd ( Daman ) Saraya Industries Ltd ( New Delhi ) Mandovi Distilleries & Breweries Pvt Ltd ( Goa ) AB Sugars Ltd ( Haryana ) Sir Shadilal Distillery & Chemical Works ( Haryana ) Trishul Bottlers ( Jammu and Kashmir ) Ajantha Bottlers & Blenders Pvt Ltd ( Ranchi, Jharkhand ) Ambient Liquors Pvt Ltd ( Jharkhand ) Karnataka Breweries & Distilleries Ltd ( Bangalore, Karnataka ) Seven Seas Distillery Pvt Ltd ( Mannuthy, Thrissur, Kerala ) Ajantha Distilleries ( Nagpur, Maharashtra ) Rainbow Distilleries Pvt Ltd ( Nagpur, Maharashtra ) Jubilant Organosys Limited ( Pune, Maharashtra ) Ravi - Kumar Distillery ( Pondicherry ) Vinbros Dist ( Pondicherry ) Mount Distillery ( Sikkim ) Golden Midas Dist ( Chennai, Tamil Nadu ) Shiva Distillery ( Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu ) Gemini Distilleries ( Tripura ) Pvt Ltd ( Tripura ) United Brothers Distilleries Private Limited ( Arunachal Pradesh ) k Himalayan Distillery Pvt Ltd ( Nepal ) References ^ Jump up to : `` About Us > USL at a Glance ''. Unitedspirits.in. Retrieved 27 July 2013. Jump up ^ M Padmakshan ( 25 January 2010 ). `` USL 's now world 's No 2 spirit co, replaces Pernod ''. The Economic Times. ET Bureau. Retrieved 27 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` United Spirits Limited ( USL ) - Who We Are About Us ''. Unitedspirits.in. 2013 - 03 - 31. Retrieved 2015 - 08 - 07. ^ Jump up to : `` Diageo bottles Mallya genie ''. Telegraphindia.com. 10 November 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2013. ^ Jump up to : ( http / / www.ambrosiaindia.com/2011/april/ub-groups.pdf `` UB Group supplement with April 2011 issue '' ) Check url = value ( help ) ( PDF ). Ambrosia. April 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2013. line feed character in url = at position 5 ( help ) Jump up ^ United Spirits Ltd Background details about Company Profile. Indiainfoline.com. Retrieved on 23 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Mallya bottles Shaw Wallace ''. The Telegraph. 22 March 2005. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Jump up ^ `` Shaw Wallace braces for final battle ''. The Telegraph. 25 April 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Jump up ^ `` Shaw Wallace board okays merger with USL ''. The Hindu. 30 November 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Jump up ^ `` Whisky giant sold to billionaire ''. BBC News. 16 May 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` Diageo increases stake in United Spirits ''. Stock Market Wire. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` United Spirits hits record high on change of guard ''. Business Standard. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` Diageo winds up with 25 pct stake in United Spirits ''. Reuters. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` Diageo ends with 25 % in United Spirits ''. Telegraphindia.com. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` Diageo completes stake acquisition in United Spirits ''. Big News Network. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013. Jump up ^ Kurian, B., and Dhamija, A., Mallya rejigs executive payrolls as Diageo tightens leash, Times of India, 13 August 2013. Jump up ^ `` BBC News -- Philippines firm Emperador buys Whyte & Mackay for £ 430m ''. BBC News. Jump up ^ Tandon, Suneera ( 7 November 2017 ). `` The Indian superstars of tax haven leaks : Amitabh Bachchan and Vijay Mallya ''. Quartz India. Retrieved 9 November 2017. Jump up ^ `` About us > Technical Center ''. United Spirits Limited. Retrieved 27 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` Brands ''. United Spirits Limited. Retrieved 27 July 2013. Jump up ^ Ub Global. Ub Global. Retrieved on 23 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` About Us > Distilleries ''. Unitedspirits.in. Retrieved 27 July 2013. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/liquor/vijay-mallya-steps-down-as-united-spirits-chairman/articleshow/51143821.cms External links Official website United Spirits Related companies United Breweries Group Diageo Shaw Wallace Whyte and Mackay Spirits brands Vodka Pinky Romanov Vladivar White Mischief Whisky Antiquity Bagpiper McDowell 's No. 1 McDowell 's No. 1 Platinum Royal Challenge Signature Director 's Special DSP Black Scotch Black Dog Rum McDowell 's No. 1 Celebration Brandy McDowell 's VSOP Wine Bouvet Ladubay Four Seasons Beer Kingfisher People Vittal Mallya Vijay Mallya Siddharth Mallya Related articles Kingfisher Airlines Force India Royal Challengers Bangalore UB City Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_Spirits&oldid=841884230 '' Categories : Distilleries in India Drink companies of India Manufacturing companies based in Bangalore Food and drink companies established in 1826 1826 establishments in British India Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange Hidden categories : CS1 errors : invisible characters Pages with URL errors Use Indian English from March 2014 All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English Use dmy dates from January 2014 Pages using infobox company with unsupported parameters Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 18 May 2018, at 18 : 08. 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Question: who is the owner of united spirits limited
Answer: Diageo