Mallya gets $75m, F1 sponsor deal, in company split

Vijay Mallya, the Force India boss and co-owner, will receive $75 million to walk away from a company.

United Spirits, the flagship of the United Breweries company Mallya took over from his late father, will pay the 60-year-old US $75 million to exit after an acrimonious fight with Diageo.

Diageo, the alcohol multinational, had fought with Mallya since taking a controlling stake in United Spirits.

But Mallya will now receive EUR 40 million immediately and the rest in instalments, while Diageo has agreed to also extended Smirnoff’s $15 million per season sponsorship of the Force India team for five more years.

"The time has now come for me to move on and end all the publicised allegations and uncertainties about my relationship with Diageo and United Spirits," Mallya said in a statement.

Force India’s future in F1 has also been questioned recently due to problems with Subrata Roy, the jailed team co-owner and boss of title sponsor Sahara.

Mallya continued: "Having recently turned 60, I have decided to spend more time in England, closer to my children."