Japan's LIXIL forays into India, buys 70% stakes in DLF subsidiary Star Alubuild

Japan-based building material company LIXIL Corporation has acquired majority 70 per cent stake in Star Alubuild, a wall curtain firm and subsidiary of DLF.

The deal valued at around Rs 80 crores includes 60 per cent stakes' sale by India's biggest real estate firm DLF and the rest 10 per cent by Romi Malhotra, founder of Star Alubuild.

DLF, which bought stakes in Star Alubuild during its initial phase, has decided to exit its investment in Star Alubuild as part of its ongoing non-core divestment strategy.

Saurabh Chawla, Executive Director, DLF commented, "We have had a very fruitful relationship with Star Alubuild and wish the company the very best for its next phase of growth. A global player like LIXIL acquiring a controlling stake in Star Alubuild demonstrates the confidence in the Indian real estate sector and ancillary industry. We would be delighted to continue our business relationship with Star Alubuild under its new ownership"

This is the first major investment by LIXIL in the rapidly growing real estate market in India.

As a part of its Medium-term Management Vision, it is targeting sales of JPY 1 trillion annually from its global operations.

It assigns top priority to developing Indian market due to the country's rapid and enormous potential for growth.

Bill Crichton, COO of LIXIL Asean said he is very optimistic about the new acquisition and see this as an opportunity to foray into Indian market.

"Our aim is to work closely with architects, building designers and developers, to understand their requirements, and then design and build the best quality products using our global expertise, at a very competitive price for the Indian market", he added.

This transaction by Lixil follows the successful acquisition of American Standard Asia Pacific in 2009, Permasteelisa in Italy in 2011, American Standard Brands in the USA in August 2013, and Germany's Grohe Group recently.