Geyer Ag Will Pick Up Havells Shares At Rs 140

Geyer AG, the German low voltage electrical switchgear major, has agreed to purchase 87,700 equity shares in Havell's India Ltd at a price of Rs 140 per share. Havell's has also appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers to help the company to privately place 15 lakh equity shares in order to raise approximately Rs 20 crore from the institutions, Havell's India director Ameet Gupta said.

Geyer's equity holding, which is 13.89 per cent currently, would have diluted to 10.63 per cent after placement. With this agreement, Geyer would eventually hold 12 per cent after the private placement is over, according to a company statement. "The fund generated through this private placement would be used for acquisitions and to retire high cost debt," it said. According to the statement, the Indian promoters of the company are in the process of completion of creeping acquisition of five per cent equity from the market which ensures them more than 50 per cent holding.

 

Havell's entered into a technical collaboration with Geyer in 1988 to manufacture miniature circuit breakers (MCBs). Geyer then invested into equity of Havell's by buying the entire promoters quota when the company came out with its IPO in 1993.