Shareholders vote to retain Mallya as USL chairman

BANGALORE: Vijay Mallya will continue as chairman of United Spirits. He was re-elected to the board of the company at the annual general meeting (AGM) here on Tuesday.

According to sources, all resolutions, including Mallya’s reappointment to the board, were passed at the meeting through electronic voting, but the results will confirmed to the regulators and exchanges only after counting of postal ballot sheets.

Mallya’s re-election, which should have been a mere formality, assumed significance as proxy advisory firm Institutional Investor Advisory Services recommended against his appointment, citing pending default cases.

Mallya, chairman of the debtladen UB Group, recently got a reprieve when Calcutta High Court stayed United Bank of India’s decision to declare him as a wilful defaulter.

Though Mallya remains chairman of USL, his shareholding dwindled after his creditors invoked pledged shares and his continuation depends on the decision of UK-based Diageo Plc. Mallya, who became a minority shareholder after Diageo picking up 54.78% stake in United Spirits saw his stake dwindling from 5.48% to 3.31% in June.

According to people present at the AGM, the event went off peacefully with no shareholders raising any question over Mallya’s continuation. Gilbert Ghostine, a Diageo nominee on the USL board, stepped down from his position. The company will soon appoint another director in his place.

The press was not given access to the AGM, and USL did not issue any statement at the end.