Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Cleary Gottlieb, Crawford Bayley & Co, and W.S. Kane & Co advised on Pernod Ricard India’s proposed sale of its ‘Imperial Blue’ business division to Tilaknagar Industries Limited, a transaction valued at approximately INR 4,150 crore. The deal was announced on July 23, 2025, and remains subject to approval from the Competition Commission of India, with closing expected in the coming months.

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas acted as the Indian legal counsel to Pernod Ricard India Private Limited in a landmark transaction involving proposed sale of its ‘Imperial Blue’ business division to Tilaknagar Industries Ltd.

The transaction team included Akila Agrawal, Mukul Sharma, Neham Tayal, Rudraksh Durrani, Nishant Tiwari, Diya Narag, Devarshi Mohan, and Avni Kumar Srivastava. The Intellectual Property team included Swati Sharma, Revanta Mathur, Sannat Chandna and Akshit Singla. The Financing team included Pranav Sharma, Meeta Kurpad and Manasvin Andra. The Competition Law team included Vijay Pratap Singh Chauhan, Rajat Sharma, Kartik Agrawal and Varun Singh. The Real Estate team included Ashish Jain and Siddharth Iyer. The Employment Law team included Bishen Jeswant, Akash Mishra and Rachita Shah.

Cleary Gottlieb is representing Pernod Ricard in the sale by Pernod Ricard India Private Limited of its Imperial Blue business division to Tilaknagar Industries Ltd, a leading player in the spirits market in India. This sale strengthens Pernod Ricard India’s portfolio, enabling the business to fully tap into premiumization trends and support sustained, profitable growth. As Pernod Ricard’s second-largest market, India is a strategic priority, and this realignment improves the ability to capitalize on the country’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals and long-term potential. Upon closing, the transaction is expected to be immediately and meaningfully accretive to Pernod Ricard India’s operating margin and net sales growth rate. The transaction was announced on July 23, 2025. Closing remains subject to the approval from the Competition Commission of India and is expected to occur within the coming months.

W.S. Kane & Co advised and represented Tilaknagar Industries Ltd. On Intellectual Property related issues during its recent acquisition of Pernod Ricard India’s Indian business of Whisky under the popular brand “Imperial Blue”. Tilaknagar Industries Ltd is one of India’s leading alcoholic beverage companies. The deal has an estimated valuation of Rs. 4150 Crore. Imperial Blue is presently the third largest brand in the Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) segment and with the acquisition, Tilaknagar will become one of the leading players in the brandy and the whisky segment, which are the two largest IMFL segments. The team comprised of Himanshu Kane, Managing Partner, Ashutosh Kane, Partner, Maitri Asher, Senior Associate, and Ishaan K. Paranjape, Associate.

Crawford Bayley & Co acted as the Indian legal counsel for Tilaknagar Industries on this transaction.