Empee Distilleries has acquired the 99.79 per cent paid-up share capital of Appollo Distilleries, an associate company, making it a subsidiary, according to information provided by Empee to the stock exchange.
Appollo Distilleries is setting up a 7.5 lakh cases a month greenfield brewery at Gummidipoondi to the North of Chennai. It is promoted by the promoter of the Chennai-based Empee group.
Mr M.P. Purushothaman, Chairman, Empee Group, said the brewery set up at a cost of about Rs 110 crore is set to commence production by August. The unit will come out with two or three of its own brands named Max 7000 Mega Strong beer and Coolberg Premium Lager beer. It is also in discussions with leading beer brands for a bottling arrangement.
With the launch of its own brands Empee, a leading player in the Indian Made Foreign Liquor segment, is re-entering the beer range nearly a decade after it sold its brewery business. In 2002, it owned the then popular Marco Polo beer, when it sold its brewery business to the UB Group.