Skylark sings for a road JV partner

Skylark, an urban, toll and highway management company based in Gurgaon, plans to dilute its 25 per cent equity to raise Rs 100 crore.

"We have bagged some contracts in the road sector on OMT (operate, maintain and transfer) model recently and have plans to aggressively target the sector. With the central government laying thrust on infrastructure, we foresee immense potential in this sector and are eyeing a lion's share of contracts. So, we are scouting for joint venture and are in talks with a couple of players. We are planning to raise Rs 100 crore by diluting 25 per cent stake. Post-dilution, the promoter stake would come down to 75 per cent in the group," said Navneet Pratap Singh, chief executive officer, Skylark group.

Skylark Highway Solutions Limited, a group company is handling the 27.7-km Delhi-Gurgaon expressway (NH-8). It is India's busiest expressway and handles around 0.3 million vehicles. IDFC awarded the contract to Skylark on July 16 last year.

With a JV partner on board, the company aims to be one of the leading players in this segment and is eyeing projects worth Rs 250 crore in the next two-three years. Currently, the group is handling six OMT projects with total project cost of Rs 70 crore. They are looking for contracts from the National Highways Authority of India, state road agencies, public works departments and private infrastructure developers.

The group offers a comprehensive range of services under three rubrics - toll operation, routine maintenance and incident management. The company strives to fill in the gap of service delivery in their niche domain through enhanced quality and expertise.

Besides, OMT projects, the company is handling around 30 toll projects across the country. The annual toll collection of the company ranges up to Rs 1,130 crore. In addition to this, it is also handling EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) projects and bid for Rs 350-crore worth road projects.

"We are contemplating to reach throughout markets in the Gulf and the African continent, transforming into a global brand." In last financial year, the group's turnover was Rs 160 core compared to Rs 240 crore during the previous year.