UB Group Chairman Vijay Mallya has extended the olive branch to the Chhabria family by offering to work together in the marketplace.

"I have made an offer to the family that we could work together instead of wasting time and money in fighting each other," Mallya told Business Standard.

Discounting that it would mean some sort of a financial collaboration between the country's two largest liquor groups -- the Chhabrias own Shaw Wallace -- Mallya said the two could cooperate to break the stranglehold of liquor contractors in many states to begin with.

"These contractors corner all the profits by playing one company against the other and by charging high rates from consumers."

Sources close to the Chhabria family confirmed that the proposal had been received from Mallya.

"There is a thought process to this effect," the sources said. Mallya said there had been no response from the Chhabrias.

Mallya and the Chhabria family, led by Manu Chhabria till his death in April 2002, have been at daggers drawn for years.

In the latest twist, McDowell's of the UB group, which holds some Shaw Wallace shares, moved the Bombay High Court seeking an injunction against the restructuring of Shaw Wallace into three companies -- one each for the beer and liquor businesses and one to hold the brands -- on the grounds that it was not in the best interests of Shaw Wallace's shareholders. The court did not grant the injunction.

Mallya also said he had agreed to the offer made by Kishore Chhabria, Manu Chhabria's younger brother, to give up his claim on Herbertsons if BDA Distilleries, a fully owned Herbertsons subsidiary, was handed over to him.

"I have agreed to the offer and hopefully this whole issue will also be resolved soon," Mallya said. While Herbertsons owns the hugely successful Bagpiper brand, BDA Distillery owns Officer's Choice.