Kotak Special Situations Fund (KSSF) and private equity firm Premji Invest have announced an investment of Rs 600 crore (around $80 million) in New Delhi-based Gold Plus Glass Industry Limited (Gold Plus).
KSSF, managed by Kotak Investment Advisors Limited (KIAL) which is part of billionaire banker Uday Kotak-led Kotak Mahindra Group, will invest up to Rs 450 crore through compulsory convertible debentures (CCDs).
Under the transaction, Premji Invest, an existing investor in Gold Plus, will invest up to an additional Rs 150 crore.
“The funds raised by Gold Plus will be used to invest in the Company’s expansion plan of setting up two new float glass manufacturing lines and one solar glass line in South India for a project of up to Rs 2,500 crore,” Kotak group said in a statement.
With this transaction, KSSF would have invested around 88% of its $1 billion (around Rs 7,130 crore) fund, closing its 11th deal from the fund.
In November last year, it had announced its 10th investment with Rs 1,000 crore (around $135 million) infusion in Sify Infinit Spaces Limited (SISL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sify.
“The Indian float glass industry is undergoing a structural shift with growing usage in architectural, automotive and industrial sectors, along with the Government’s increasing support for domestic manufacturers,” said Eshwar Karra, CEO at KSSF.
Jimmy Tyagi, CEO, Gold Plus, said, “This investment will fast track our expansion plan, and will bring significant merits for the industry and contribute in making India self-reliant for glass production where currently more that 30% of glass requirement is met through imports."
Gold Plus is India’s second largest float glass manufacturer after Saint Gobain, with two manufacturing lines in North India, and offers a full bouquet of product offerings of clear glass and value-added glass.
In 2018, Premji Invest, the family investment arm of the Wipro Ltd chairman Azim Premji focused on mid-sized growth firms, had picked up a 19% stake for $58.45 million in Gold Plus Glass at a valuation of $248 million, according to VCCEdge, the data research platform for VCCircle. The company had reported a consolidated net sales of Rs 459.6 crore with a profit after tax of Rs 10.5 crore that financial year.
Since then, its net sales have nearly doubled.
VCCircle recently reported that Gold Plus could also look at a public listing going forward.
Founded in 1985, Gold Plus manufactures and sells a variety of glass for industrial and home use under the brand Gold Plus Float Glass. It primarily makes ‘float glass’ which is used to make windows or mirrors.
The company is currently undergoing an expansion plan to undertake the biggest float glass capacity in India till date and is setting up three manufacturing lines in Karnataka including one solar glass and two float glass production lines. Collectively, these three additions are likely to result in additional capacity estimated at 1,900 tonnes from about 1,250 tonnes per day. The gestation period of the new project is about 2 years. The total project outlay will be up to Rs 2,500 crore.
Presently, it has two float lines in Roorkee, Uttarakhand with installed capacity of approx. 460,000 metric tonnes annually, spread across 100 acres. It also has a processing unit catering to high value glasses.
Rajesh Ramaiah, Partner, Premji Invest said, “We are excited to commit further capital to our existing partnership with Gold Plus for one of the largest expansions planned in the glass Industry…”
Premji Invest’s investments include brands such as Fab India, Hygienic Research, ID foods, Lenskart, Flipkart, Policy Bazaar, SBI General Insurance, Shubham Housing, Aditya Birla Capital, KreditBee, Best Value Chem, SB Packaging, and Micro Plastics.
KPMG acted as the exclusive financial advisor and Pioneer Legal acted as the legal advisor to Gold Plus for the fund raise.
