United Breweries says Kingfisher brand not pledged

United Breweries says no shares of company are pledged to Kingfisher lenders

United Breweries says brand "Kingfisher" has not been hypothecated/pledged by company to any lender to secure its loans, adding that no shares of the company are pledged to the lenders of Kingfisher Airlines.

Lenders to grounded Kingfisher Airlines decided earlier this week to take initial steps towards recovering $1.4 billion of loans in default after the company failed to come up with a viable funding plan.

Kingfisher Airlines, owned by the flamboyant Vijay Mallya, has not flown since October 2012 after operations were halted due to a cash crunch. Its lenders had first declared the company's loans in default in early 2012 but held back recovery after the carrier's promises of capital infusion.

Source text:

"This has reference to the reports in a section of the newspaper/media, relating to recall of loans by lenders by invoking securities including the brand "Kingfisher". We wish to bring to your attention that United Breweries Limited is the owner of brand "Kingfisher" registered under the respective Trademark classes pertaining to alcoholic beverages. The brand "Kingfisher" has not been hypothecated / pledged by United Breweries Limited to any lender to secure its loans. There has also been some speculation as to whether shares in United Breweries Limited are pledged to the lenders of Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. We wish to clarify that no shares of the Company are so pledged."


Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013