THE exact terms of any deal between Diageo and United Spirits need to be closely examined before it can be seen as a good thing for the Scotch whisky industry.

While Diageo has in the past walked away from talks with the Indian company a resolution now appears more likely as Vijay Mallya's need for cash is greater this time around.

In Scotland Diageo has committed to spending £1 billion in its whisky producing sites and building a new distillery to capitalise on the booming global demand for Scotch.

If it adds brands such as Whyte & Mackay, Jura and Dalmore then its footprint is dramatically increased.

One worry will be that kind of large increase in stocks and production capacity may mean there is less of a rush to get shovels in the ground on its expansion in Scotland.

On a brighter note the preliminary indications point to this being a transaction for Diageo to enhance its presence in India and start placing more of its vast portfolio of brands in front of the burgeoning middle classes in that country.

There is no doubt Diageo sees Scotch whisky as a major component of its growth in Asia.

So if a deal is struck it would not be too much of stretch of the imagination to pencil in a greater export performance from what is already one of Scotland's best performing industries.

That is what Scottish workers at both firms will be hoping for.