Tilaknagar Industries, maker of India’s largest-selling brandy, Mansion House Brandy, is reportedly in the lead to acquire Pernod Ricard’s iconic Imperial Blue whisky. The Indian alcoholic beverage company will likely have a meeting on July 23, 2025, to consider a fund-raising proposal. If things go as planned, Tilaknagar Industries will acquire Imperial Blue whisky for about INR 4,000 to INR 5,000 crore! Yes, you heard it right! Here’s all the scoop on the latest acquisition about to take place in the Indian alcoholic beverage industry.
Tilaknagar Industries, led by Amit Dahanukar, has emerged as the front-runner to acquire the popular whisky brand, Imperial Blue. The brand is India’s third-largest selling whisky brand, only behind McDowell’s and Royal Stag.
Ravi Deol’s Inbrew Beverages is also a contender in acquiring Imperial Blue, however, it is most likely to be acquired by Tilaknagar Industries. It is likely that an official statement or announcement will soon be released, mostly by the end of July 2025.
On July 23, Wednesday, the board of Tilaknagar Industries will meet to consider a fund-raising proposal. While exact details or the purpose of the meeting hasn’t been disclosed, it is likely that the meet is linked to the final stages of negotiations for acquiring Imperial Blue.
As per the company’s disclosure, the proposed capital raise could be executed via various instruments. These include equity shares, debentures, warrants, bonds, as well as preference shares. The fund infusion may then occur in one or more phases (called tranches) via public offerings, private placements, preferential allotments, rights issues, qualified institutional placements, or a combination of either of them.
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Tilaknagar Industries is actively working to expand its liquor portfolio which currently includes Madira Gold Dark rum, Blue Lagoon gin, and Mansion House Gold Barrel whisky. While the company enjoys a strong foothold across southern India, thanks to its Mansion House brandy, the company is eyeing to expand across the country. Mansion House brandy sells about 7.8 million cases in South India.
Recently, Ameya Deshpande, President, Strategy and Corporate, Tilaknagar Industries, commented that the company had a 2030 vision for expansion. He elaborated, “Our vision 2030 would be more like an 80:20 saliency whereby 80% of our business is still driven by brandy, but non-brandy kind of expands to 20% from the current 6%”.
The company has previously invested in many other alco-bev ventures, such as the ready-to-pour beverage company Bartisans as well as Spacemen Spirits that owns Samsara Gin.
Pernod Ricard has been eyeing to offload Imperial Blue from its portfolio for quite some time. The brand, as of July 2025, sells 22.9 million cases annually. This is only behind India’s largest-selling Diageo’s McDowell’s whisky (32.2 million cases) and Pernod Ricard’s Royal Stag (31 million cases).
For those unversed with it, Imperial Blue is a superior blend of Indian grain spirits and imported Scotch malts. It was launched in 1997 in India and its distinct smoothness and supreme taste made it a popular name in the Indian spirits market in no time. Pernod Ricard acquired Imperial Blue in 2002 and since then, the brand has only scaled new heights and parameters of success. However, Pernod Ricard’s Imperial Blue is now set to be acquired by Tilaknagar Industries, most likely, for a deal worth thousands of crores!
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An official announcement from both Tilaknagar Industries and Pernod Ricard is awaited and it will mostly be by the end of July 2025. While Inbrew Beverages is also in the race to acquire Imperial Blue, the brand will most likely be acquired by Tilaknagar Industries for INR 4,000 to INR 5,000 crore. What do you think of this newest acquisition on the cards? Will it open new opportunities for Imperial Blue’s global expansion?
