Siel Seeks Ally For Aircon

Siddharth Shriram promoted Siel has decided to transform its 100 per cent subsidiary, Siel Aircon, into a joint venture and is negotiating with foreign firms for a possible equity tie-up.

This was disclosed by Siddharth Shriram at a press meet on the occasion of the launch of a new range of air conditioners by Usha International in the capital yesterday.

Shriram said that the company plans to bring in a foreign equity partner for a joint venture which would take over the air-conditioner and water cooler manufacturing business of Siel.

"The exact modalities and equity shareholding of the joint venture is currently being worked out," he added.

He also said that Siel intended to enter the domestic refrigerator sector some time next year. Siel's decision to dilute equity in the air conditioner manufacturing business comes close on the heels of the company's decision to withdraw completely from its compressor venture with Tecumseh. Earlier, faced with a financial crunch, the company had offloaded 30 per cent of its stake in the 60:40 Honda Siel joint venture company in favour of Honda Motors.

Usha yesterday unveiled 11 new air conditioner models including the 2-tonne side throw window air conditioners and an extensive range of split air conditioners upto 3-tonne. The prices of the new models range from Rs 36,000 to Rs 75,000.