Deloitte tax team in on Diageo deal

A TEAM from Deloitte in Yorkshire has played a leading role in a deal that has seen UK drinks giant Diageo buy a majority stake in India’s United Spirits Group for £1.28bn.

Richard Williams, tax partner at the ‘Big Four’ accountancy practice in Leeds, led a tax team that acted on the deal.

Diageo, whose brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness and Smirnoff, will get a 53.4% share in Indian liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s United Spirits.

Deloitte carried out financial and tax due diligence work together with tax structuring with Diageo being a long standing client of Mr Williams’s.

Mr Williams said: “I have been working on this particular transaction over the last six months where I have led the tax team that worked on what can only be described as a large and complex business with substantial operations in India plus the rest of the world, including the Whyte & Mackay subgroup in the UK.

“It has been an incredibly challenging deal as a result of having to assist Diageo in understanding the tax risks associated with buying a business in India where the tax authorities are incredibly aggressive and operate in a different way.

“It has involved working closely with teams in India to determine what risks could be regarded as common practice in India as opposed to risks specific to the business being acquired that need to be taken into account in negotiations.”