Asian Paints Ltd on Tuesday said that it is selling its entire stake in Berger Paints Singapore Pte. Ltd to Aussie asset manager Omega Property Investments Pty. Ltd, Australia.
Asian Paints will sell the Singaporean arm of Berger via Asian Paints International Pvt. Ltd for S$4 million (US$2.9 million or Rs 21 crore at current exchange rate), it said in a filing with stock exchanges.
Asian Paints said it was selling Berger Paints Singapore as the firm had a limited presence in the local coatings market and was not “material to the overall international operations” of the group.
The subsidiary reported revenue of S$19.77 million (Rs 103 crore at current exchange rate) for the financial year ended March 31, 2019, and a loss of S$1.55 million (around Rs 8.08 crore).
Shares of Asian Paints were trading 1.35% up at Rs 1,541 apiece at the time of writing this report.
Asian Paints was set up in 1942, and now operates in 16 countries and runs at least 25 paint manufacturing factories. It has also made several moves to boost its core business by acquiring companies along the paint and home décor value chain.
In December 2017, the firm acquired a 49% stake it didn’t already own in Sleek International Pvt. Ltd, a maker of modular kitchens and wardrobes, for Rs 50 crore ($7.8 million). Asian Paints had purchased a 51% stake in Sleek International from the Ahuja family in 2013, marking its entry in the home-improvement segment.
In 2017, it purchased Sri Lanka’s Causeway Paints Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd to expand its overseas business, as well as paid Rs 159.5 crore ($24.7 million) to acquire Reno Chemicals Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics Pvt. Ltd.
