Bengaluru: United Spirits Ltd (USL) on Tuesday said HDFC has sold 150,000 shares that the liquor maker’s chairman Vijay Mallya had pledged with the mortgage lender, for ₹ 47 crore.
In a BSE filing, USL said HDFC sold the shares pledged by Kingfisher Finvest to secure loans given to the holding company United Breweries Holding Ltd (UBHL).
The move comes days after Yes Bank sold United Breweries shares worth ₹ 778 crore, pushing promoter Mallya to repay loans over ₹ 7,000 crore taken for the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.
According to USL, HDFC unilaterally invoked the shares, amounting to 0.1% stake in USL.
Diageo Plc is now a majority (54.78%) shareholder in USL.
Mallya recently said he is focused on clearing dues with lenders, after State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, declared Mallya a wilful defaulter after a long legal battle.
On the sidelines of a USL annual general meeting that Mallya chaired in Bengaluru on 24 November, the 59-year-old said his efforts are directed towards initiating a truce with the lenders of Kingfisher Airlines.
“I am focusing on settling Kingfisher’s affairs with the banks,” Mallya said. “That’s what my current focus is.”
