Heineken in talks for control of United Breweries: Reports

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Vijay Mallya, scrambling to raise funds to rescue his ailing Kingfisher Airlines, is considering selling part of his stake in his flagship liquor business to Dutch brewery giant Heineken, media reports said.

The Financial Times, citing a person familiar with the matter, said Mallya was close to selling 13 per cent of United Breweries Ltd, worth about $370 million at current market prices, to Heineken.

That could give control of United Breweries to Heineken, which already held 37.38 percent of India's largest beverages group as of the end of 2011.

A spokesman at UB Group did not answer calls or reply to text messages. A spokesman for Heineken declined to comment.

Mallya owns about 19 per cent in United Breweries and may be looking to sell part of his holding and inject some of the proceeds into Kingfisher, the Business Standard newspaper reported on Thursday.

Mallya is under pressure from his airline's lenders to inject equity into Kingfisher, which has debt of $1.3 billion and has slashed its flight schedule and grounded most of its fleet as it has been unable to pay staff.

Shares in United Spirits, United Breweries and UB Holding(UBHL.NS), all part of Mallya's UB Group, ended 1.5-4.8 percent higher on Wednesday after news channel CNBC TV18 reported a possible Heineken deal.