KEC Intl buys US-based SAE Towers for $95 mn

Power transmission contractor KEC International said on Tuesday it has signed a $95 million agreement to acquire SAE Towers Holdings from a unit of US-based private equity firm, Acon Investments.

The acquisition, expected to close this month, would be on a cash-free, debt-free basis and would add to KEC International's earnings from 2010/11, the company said in a statement.

The deal will strengthen KEC's foothold in the markets of North America and Latin America, where transmission and distribution spends are increasing, it said.

SAE Towers is a maker of steel lattice transmission towers, producing 100,000 metric tonnes per annum. It also makes steel poles for electrical transmission and related hardware and employs more than 750 personnel, it said.

Sagent Advisors and Daiwa Capital Markets India Private Ltd were the financial advisers to KEC International for the deal, and Harris Williams & Co was the financial adviser to SAE Towers.

At 9:58 am, shares of the company were up 3.65 per cent at Rs 594.05 a share in a firm Mumbai market.