Topsgrup mulls to raise Rs 300 cr via IPO

Leading player in the security industry, Topsgrup plans to hit the capital market with an initial public offer (IPO) of around Rs 300 crore next year, a top company official said.     

"We are looking at raising around Rs 300 crore through an IPO next year to fund our acquisition plans abroad," Topsgrup Managing Director Ramesh Iyer, told reporters today.     

The company was looking at acquiring companies in the US and India, Iyer said.     

The company has already acquired a company in the UK and one in Bangalore in the recent past.     

Commenting on the company's capex plans, Iyer said "Our business is not highly capital intensive and funds are used for equipment and setting up infrastructure only."     

Over the last three years, Topsgrup has grown at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 45 per cent, higher than the industry which is growing at a CAGR of 22 per cent. In 2008-09, Topsgrup crossed revenues of Rs 876 crore and is poised to achieve revenue of Rs 1,400-crore by FY 11 through an effective combination of aggressive organic growth combined by strategic inorganic acquisitions within India and other countries around the globe.

With ambitious organic and inorganic growth plans, Topsgrup is poised to spread its operations to China, South- East Asia, the Middle-East and America in the coming years and is confident of being ranked amongst the top 10 global security firms in the coming years, the company said in a statement.     

Topsgrup today announced a strategic joint venture with Israel-based Securegate, a global group providing world-class security processes, standards and technologies.     

The joint venture, Tops Securegate, is 51:49 JV with equal investment from each partner. With a stake of 51 per cent, Topsgrup will be the majority partner, Iyer said.     

"We bring in vast know-how, experience, expertise and different practices that have been designed, developed and implemented by us for more than 30-years in all types of homeland security projects around the world," Securegate's Managing Direcor, Aviv Shweky, said.     

With this move, Topsgrup will enter an Rs 920 crore niche market with a long-range 5-year business plan. The JV will leverage the infrastructure of Topsgrup in India and as and when required, super-specialists from Israel will join the team.     

The JV will leverage Securegate's unique TVRA (threat identification, vulnerability evaluation and risk analysis) methodology along with a proprietary intelligence mapping system to identify the real threat and loopholes in protecting assets, infrastructure and sites.