ALLIED-LYONS SEES NO CHANGE IN HIRAM WALKER STAKE

  Allied-Lyons PLC &lt;ALLD.L> and Canada's
  Reichmann brothers are working well together as partners and
  currently do not plan any change in their joint ownership of
  distiller Hiram Walker-Gooderham and Worts, Allied-Lyons
  chairman Derrick Holden-Brown said.
      Allied-Lyons got 51 pct control of Hiram Walker-Gooderham
  last year for about 600 mln U.S. dlrs, while the Reichmanns'
  &lt;Gulf Canada Corp> acquired 49 pct in an out-of-court pact
  after a hostile battle for the wine and spirits division of
  &lt;Hiram Walker Resources Ltd>.
      "We are getting along very well as partners ... I hope
  there won't be any change, but there could be," Holden-Brown
  told reporters after a speech in Toronto.
      He said Allied-Lyons has a two-year call option that could
  force Gulf Canada to sell its 49 pct stake to Allied-Lyons, and
  Gulf Canada has a two-year put option that could obligate
  Allied-Lyons to buy its 49 pct.
      "Both we and Gulf hope very much there will be no occasion
  for either the put or call to be exercised," Holden-Brown said.
      In answer to a reporter's question, Holden-Brown said it
  would be possible for Gulf Canada to sell off part of its 49
  pct in a public offering with Allied-Lyons' consent. "I don't
  think we would have any objection to it," he added.
      Allied-Lyons maintains control of Hiram Walker-Gooderham's
  board of directors and has total responsibility for its
  management. "We cannot contemplate giving up our control," he
  said.
      Holden-Brown would not disclose how big a profit
  contribution the distiller will make in Allied-Lyons' financial
  results, but he said "it will be substantial."
      "I am not able to give profit forecasts," he said.
      Holden-Brown said Allied-Lyons was able to finance the
  Hiram Walker-Gooderham acquisition with cash and borrowings,
  and has no current plans for a stock issue.
      He said the company is not currently negotiating any more
  acquisitions in Canada but has a team of officials evaluating
  possible purchases of wines, spirits, soft drinks or food
  concerns. "I don't think we shall be looking at the brewery
  scene (which is) highly concentrated already," he added.
      Holden-Brown said Allied-Lyons plans to list its shares on
  Canadian stock exchanges, possibly later this year.
  

