Q: With this, the entire treasury stock gets extinguished?

A: We have total of about 17% of USL-held treasury, this represents just over 10%. So we still have some.

Q: Move two from the market’s mind, is that United Spirits goes the QIP way and looks to raise cash via that mode, is that on the table?

A: UB group has, over the years, been accused of being over borrowed etc. But our history has always proven that we try to prepay while we haven’t hesitated to borrow. So here also, our intention clearly is to accelerate the repayment of the debt obligation in USL. Thus, we are looking at other options and QIP is one of them. We have also received some interest from really top of the notch blue-blooded PE firms and we will look at all our options after we catch our breath from this transaction.

Q: Could you tell us whether you will be considering a sale of the remaining 7% treasury just to clean the book out?

A: Maybe not immediately. Obviously the treasury stocks were created by us at the first place as means of liquidating debt. Hence, at some point of time, we may take a call on that. Whether we do that immediately or we do that in preference to other alternatives, I don’t know for certain now.

Q: Can you give us even a ballpark figure for what the size of the likely QIP or PE infusion could be, because the market is talking about a USD 250 million kind of a number. Would that be the ballpark which you are working with?

A: Yes that is approximately right. We had borrowed USD 600 million in USL for making the acquisition, the first amortisation of USD 40 million we repaid and now we repaid another USD 70 million. With today’s nearly USD 180 million, we would be somewhere around USD 300 million. So half the loan has already repaid been. Thus, there is not a lot of pressure. But we think that if the time is right, we could probably just de-leverage the company to a level that’s sustainable debt and then look at other things in life.