Auto component manufacturer Varroc Engineering Ltd said on Friday it has acquired a 74% stake in telematics solutions provider CarIQ Technologies Pvt Ltd.
The acquisition will boost Varroc’s position as a manufacturer of connected vehicle products, the company said in a stock-exchange filing. It did not disclose the financial details.
Varroc's connected vehicle products include instrument clusters, telematic devices and other data-based analytical product offerings.
"We see our collaboration with CarIQ and the capabilities we will build together and share as a crucial part of both our current and future product strategy," said Arjun Jain, president of the electrical and electronics business at Varroc.
Pune-based CarIQ Technologies is an integrated connected vehicle solution provider to original equipment manufacturer, fleet owners and insurance companies. CarIQ platforms have so far analysed driving patterns for more than 90 million kilometers spread across over 50,000 drivers, it said.
Varroc, which was incorporated in 1988, had floated its initial public offering last year. Singapore-based Omega TC Holdings Pte Ltd, a fund managed by Tata Opportunities, and Tata Capital Finance Services had sold their entire stake in the public offering while the company's promoter Tarang Jain had offloaded a small chunk of shares.
The company designs, manufactures and supplies exterior lighting systems, plastic and polymer components, electrical-electronic components, and precision metallic components to passenger car, commercial vehicle, two-wheeler, three-wheeler and off-highway vehicle manufacturers directly worldwide.
The Varroc group's revenue was close to Rs 12,500 crore for the year ended 31 March 2019. This includes the share of revenue from a joint venture in China, it said.
Over the past decade, the size of India’s auto component industry has almost tripled -- from around Rs 1.1 lakh crore in 2000-09 to Rs 3.5 lakh crore in 2017-18, according to a September 2018 report by global consultancy McKinsey.
Last year, Blackstone Group LP, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, re-entered the auto components sector in India after a three-year gap, buying two companies. Separately, Kedaara Capital and Oman India Joint Investment Fund have made similar bets while some suppliers acquired peers in India and abroad.
