Following the successful close of its £1.1 billion tender offer on June 19, 2014, Diageo secured a 54.7 percent stake in United Spirits Limited (USL), for which it paid a total of £1.85 billion.

The acquisition cost was partly offset by lowering USL’s debt through the £430 million proceeds from the sale of Whyte & Mackay to Emperador of the Philippines, a transaction mandated by the UK competition authorities.

Diageo had offered to buy around 38 billion shares at Rs. 3,030 per share, representing an 18 percent premium to USL’s market price on the day the offer was announced in mid-April 2014.

The offer drew strong investor interest, with reports from India indicating heavy oversubscription just before the tender closed, as USL’s market price never matched the offer price.

This marked a

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