Fortune Brands, maker of Jim Beam bourbon and Titleist golf balls, has sold its scotch whisky business to the management for £208m.
The sale includes the Whyte & Mackay scotch and Invergordon Distillers' own-label business, as well as vodka and liqueur brands.
The management buy-out (MBO) is the largest in Scotland's history. The new management was advised by KPMG Corporate Finance.
Kyndal International, the MBO vehicle, is led by Brian Megson, a 20-year veteran of Whyte & Mackay. The company will have a nine per cent share of the scotch market.
Mr Megson said a flotation of Kyndal was potentially around the corner but the management had plenty to occupy it at present. The company was interested in making acquisitions and developing new products.
Kyndal is 25 per cent owned by nine managers including Mr Megson, chairman and chief executive. The remaining 75 per cent is controlled by WestLB, the German bank that provided a £188m loan to the MBO, and Rotch, the UK property group that provided £20m of stop-gap finance.
Kyndal will generate more than half its revenues from own-label scotch to retailers including Tesco. Its other brands include Dalmore and Vladivar vodka.
The acquired businesses generated profits of £20.4m on sales of £126m in the year to January, 2001. The group employs 760 people and will retain its base in Glasgow. Kyndal has negotiated ongoing trading contracts with Fortune's Jim Beam Brands. Kyndal will produce and bottle After Shock liqueur and sell Canadian Bulk whiskey on behalf of Jim Beam Brands in all markets except America.