Elecon Engineering Co. Ltd, a Baroda-based engineering firm, is looking to raise Rs 150-200 crore by inducting a strategic partner. The company has appointed Ambit Corporate Finance Pte Ltd to find buyers, at least two persons with direct knowledge of the development have said.
“The company is looking to raise money through equity to pare debt,†one of the sources said. According to him, the higher debt, coupled with rising interest cost, had been a concern for the company for some time now. As on March 2011, the company’s debt to equity ratio stood at 1.55 per cent or Rs 530.34 crore.
An e-mail query sent to the company spokesperson did not elicit any response.
According to another source, the company could look at selling some of its non-core businesses to raise more money. Elecon Group has businesses across several verticals including power transmission, material handling equipment, alternate energy and manufacturing infrastructure.
“Under alternate energy business, the company has a few wind farms which are currently non-core to the business,†one of the sources said. However, he declined to comment further, saying that the lower valuations available for such assets at this point of time would deter the company from selling those.
On Tuesday, the company’s stock price declined 0.09 per cent to close at Rs 57 a share.
Established in 1951, Elecon manufactures material handling equipment, industrial geared motors (products of PBL) and reducers, mining equipment, casting processes, etc. The company has been catering to a plethora of industries like fertiliser, cement, coal, power generation, mining, chemical, steel, port mechanisation, minerals & metals processing.
In 2010, Elecon acquired UK-based Benzlers-Radicon Group from David Brown Gear Systems Ltd for £21.41 million. With this acquisition, Elecon strengthened its expertise in manufacturing customised gearboxes for steel mills, high-speed turbines, satellites for Indian space research programme and naval aircraft carriers.
According to VCCEdge, the research platform of VCCircle, as on March 2011, the company’s consolidated revenue rose to Rs 1,200.78 crore from that of Rs 1,065.72 crore, posted during the previous year. Its net profit stood at Rs 87.92 crore, as compared to Rs 66.2 crore for the same period.
