Siddhartha Mallya Quits His Director Role In UB Holdings

Bangalore: Siddharth Mallya, son of business tycoon Vijay Mallya, quit as the director of United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd, a firm that holds investments in companies such as United Spirits and United Breweries on Friday.

In a regulatory filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the city-based holding firm said that the28-year-old businessman vacated the office of director with effect from March 31, under the relevant section of the Companies Act.

Vijay Mallya's uncomplicated exit from the country earlier this month incited political recriminations, with the opposition asking why the liquor baron was able to travel abroad at a time when banks are desperate for his airline, which stopped functioning in 2012, to repay its loans.

Siddhart Mallya’s quit comes days after Vijay Mallya, who is believed to be in the UK, took to Twitter to ask people not to target his son Siddharth. “My son Sid does not deserve all this abuse as he had nothing to do with my business. Slam me if you must but not a young man,” Vijay Mallya tweeted on Wednesday.

Sidhartha, who was first appointed as director in May 2005, was re-appointed to the executive on rotation with the shareholders’ consent at the company’s 99th annual general meeting here on September 28, 2015.

The company did not give reason for Sidhartha’s sudden resignation. As chairman, Mallya holds majority equity stake (52.34 percent) in the holding firm, whose flagship company is the country's largest beer maker United Breweries Ltd.