united breweries United Breweries Group or UB Group is an Indian conglomerate company headquartered in UB City, Bangalore in the state of Karnataka[1]

The company has annual sales of over US$4 billion and a market capitalization of approximately US$12 billion. Its core business includes beverages, aviation, electrical and chemicals. The company markets beer under the Kingfisher brand and has also launched Kingfisher Airlines, an airline service in India, whose operation has been stalled after licence is been revoked by DGCA.[2] United Breweries is India's largest producer of beer with a market share of around 48% by volume.[3]

The company chairman is Vijay Mallya who had been a member of the Indian Parliament. United Breweries now has greater than a 40% share of the Indian brewing market with 79 distilleries and bottling units across the world. Recently UB financed a takeover of the spirits business of the rival ShawWallace company giving it a majority share of India's spirits business. The group owns the Mendocino Brewing Company in the United State History

The UB Group was founded by a Scotsman, Thomas Leishman, in 1857. The Group took its initial lessons in manufacturing beer from South India based British breweries. At the age of 22, Vittal Mallya was elected as the company's first Indian director in 1947. After a year, he replaced R G N Price as the chairman of the company. Rangarajan took over from R G N Price.

United Breweries made its initial impact by manufacturing bulk beer for the British troops, which was transported in huge barrels or "Hogsheads". Kingfisher, the group's most visible and profitable brand, made a modest entry in the sixties. During the 1950s and 60s, the company expanded greatly by acquiring other breweries. First was the addition of McDowell as one of the Group subsidiaries, a move which helped United Breweries to extend its portfolio to wines and spirits business. Strategically, the Group moved into agro-based industries and medicines when Mallya acquired Kissan Products and formed a long-term relationship with Hoechst AG of Germany to create the Indian pharmaceutical company now known as Aventis Pharma, the Indian subsidiary of the global pharma major SanofiAventis. Recent history

Sales were expected to exceed 60 million cases during the fiscal year 200506, making the Group the third-largest manufacturer of spirits products in the world,[4] after Diageo and Pernod Ricard. In

addition, USL is one of only three in the world to own seven millionaire brands and at least five brands rated by Drinks International, UK, to be amongst the ten fastest growing brands in the world in their respective categories. The market share of the Spirits Division in India is currently 60% and exports to the Middle East, Africa and Asian countries are growing rapidly.

The UB Group's brewing entity called United Breweries Limited (UBL) - has also assumed undisputed market leadership with a national market share in excess of 50%. Through a process of aggressive acquisition and market penetration, The UB Group today controls 60% of the total manufacturing capacity for beer in India. The flagship brand, Kingfisher, is now sold in over 52 countries worldwide, having received many accolades for its quality.

With plans to become a global player, United Spirits Limited (USL), the flagship of the UB group, purchased the Scottish distiller Whyte and Mackay in May 2007 for 595 million (Rs. 4,800 crore).[5] This would bring the brands of W&M like The Dalmore, Isle of Jura, Glayva, Fettercairn, Vladivar Vodka, and Whyte & Mackay Scotch under its portfolio.

The UB group also manufactures fertilizers. The group company Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers (MCF) has a factory at Panambur in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka.

UB Engineering Limited is the group's engineering business arm. It undertakes EPC projects, infrastructure, on-site fabrication of structures, installation, testing and commissioning of electrical and mechanical equipment, piping for large industrial projects. The company was initially established as Western India Erectors in 1963 and came under the UB Group in 1988.

UBICS, Inc provides IT consulting, bodyshopping services and professional IT products to business companies.

In August 1999, the group made a first-of-its-kind media alliance for the promotion of NDTV Good Times, a lifestyle television channel run by NDTV.

United Spirits Limited has 144 brands under its umbrella, including White Mischief vodka, the market leading brand in India.