L&T may list finance units

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) said on Monday it was planning to either list or sell stakes in its two wholly owned financial services units — L&T Finance and L&T Infrastructure Finance — over the next 12 months.

“The financial services business has to be an independent business. We are looking at various options for unlocking value of this business. One of the options we are looking at is an initial public offer (IPO). We might also look at merger with another non-banking finance company (NBFC). However, we have not finalised the manner to unlock the value of this business. I expect it to happen before the third quarter of FY11,” said YM Deosthalee, chief financial officer, L&T.

On whether L&T was looking at selling its entire stake in the finance companies, he said, “We are not exiting the financial services business. We are a strong brand and it has to be efficiently used. It has to be managed individually and have a separate status.”