United Spirits soars over 6% after Vijay Mallya quits as chairman

Shares of United Spirits surged over 6 per cent on Friday after Vijay Mallya quit as chairman of the company following an agreement with its majority owner, Diageo.

Under the agreement, the UK-based company agreed to pay Rs 515 crore and absolve him from all the liabilities over alleged financial lapses at the firm founded by his family.

The stock after a positive opening jumped 6.4 per cent to Rs 2,835.30 on BSE.

On NSE, it climbed 6.28 per cent to Rs 2,833.

Mallya, who along with his group firms, who is fighting the 'wilful defaulter' tag in relation to loans taken by the long-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, said he would now "spend more time in England" closer to his children.

For son Sidhharth, he has managed a sweetheart deal, with Diageo agreeing to retain him as Director of the USL Group firm that runs the RCB cricket team of IPL cricket tournament for at least two years.

Mallya himself has agreed to resign from boards of all USL group firms, including the posts of chairman and non-executive director of United Spirits Ltd (USL). He would become 'founder emeritus' of USL and chief mentor of RCB.

Announcing his resignation, Mallya yesterday said, "The time has now come for me to move on and end all the publicised allegations and uncertainties about my relationship with Diageo and USL.