Electrical equipment maker Crompton Greaves Ltd said on Tuesday it has agreed to sell its power transformer business in Canada to PTI Holdings Corp for about C$20 million ($15.18 million, or Rs 99 crore).
The deal is subject to regulatory approvals, the Gautam Thapar-promoted Avantha Group company said in a stock market disclosure.
The group has sold several assets in the recent past as it looks to reduce debt on its books.
In September, the group's paper arm Ballarpur Industries Ltd agreed to offload its entire stake in loss-making Malaysian unit Sabah Forest Industries Sdn to Pandawa Sakti (Sabah) Sdn Bhd, Malaysia, for an enterprise value of $500 million.
In May, Crompton Greaves had announced it had received non-binding proposals from some international suitors for acquisition of its power divisions in Indonesia, North America and Europe.
Earlier this month, the company said it would sell a land parcel at Kanjurmarg, a Mumbai suburb, to city-based Evie Real Estate Pvt. Ltd for Rs 496.48 crore. Also in October, the company said it agreed to divest its entire stake in an equal joint venture to its UK-based partner W Lucy & Co Ltd for Rs 40.26 crore ($6.2 million).
In April, Avantha Group agreed to sell its entire 34.3 per cent stake in the consumer products business of Crompton Greaves to a special purpose vehicle created by PE firm Advent and Singapore state investment arm Temasek for Rs 2,000 crore ($316 million).
Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd makes products such as fans, light sources, pumps, geysers, mixer grinders, toasters, irons and electric lanterns. It would be listed separately. The deal valued the firm at Rs 5,820 crore ($923 million) on a pure equity basis. The enterprise value was pegged at Rs 6,600 crore ($1.07 billion).
Crompton Greaves had acquired the Canadian power transformer business as part of its purchase of Pauwels in 2005. The company has made a dozen acquisitions over the past decade including Ganz (2006), Microsol (2007), Sonomatra (2008), MSE Power System (2008), Power Technology Solutions (2010) and three units of Nelco (2010). More recently, it acquired the compact fluorescent light bulb business of Himachal Pradesh-based Karma Industries for $2.6 million.
Avantha Group also runs energy generation company Avantha Power and has several small and medium-sized companies in processed food, IT and chemicals.
On Tuesday, shares of Crompton Greaves were 0.44 per cent lower at Rs 182.40 apiece in afternoon trade in a weak Mumbai market.
