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Mr Rajiv Mittal

R. Balaji

Chennai, Sept. 20 VA Tech Wabag Ltd, an ICICI Ventures company, has acquired VA Tech Wabag GmbH, Austria, in a deal finalised in Vienna on Wednesday.

According to Mr Rajiv Mittal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, VA Tech Wabag (India), the acquisition puts VA Tech back on the global map as a leader in the water management business.

The Indian company was till 2005 a subsidiary of VA Tech Wabag, Austria. In 2005, Siemens acquired the Austrian company while ICICI Ventures took a majority stake in the Indian company with a management group headed by Mr Mittal holding a minority stake.

The Austrian company has a presence across the globe with a business volume of over €100 million (Rs 560 crore). VA Tech Wabag India, based in Chennai, is a Rs 300-crore company with a presence in India and Asia markets.

While declining to divulge the acquisition cost, Mr Mittal said that through the acquisition VA Tech Wabag would emerge a multinational company with businesses in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. It is set to regain its position among the top three companies in water management in the world with the global operations managed out of the Chennai office.

It may be recalled that earlier this year VA Tech Wabag had received a $20 million fund infusion from GLG Partners, UK, which has taken a stake in the company. Company officials had then said that ICICI Ventures, which holds 60 per cent, Siemens 20 per cent and the management team 20 per cent would each dilute their stake by 10 per cent in favour of GLG. The funds would be used to acquire an European company and to finance the growth plans in the domestic market.

On the significance of the acquisition, Mr Mittal said that it was the first time in the water management sector where an Indian company has acquired its European counterpart. The Wabag brand name, the modern technology options and research facilities in Austria and Switzerland would combine with the design-build-operate skills of Wabag India to offer sustainable water solutions.

VA Tech Wabag has been in India for over a decade and has a presence in water treatment in the public and private sector.

Its business areas cover municipal water and wastewater treatment, industrial water treatment, operation and maintenance. It also has offices in West Asia and South East Asia, which it sees as emerging markets that could give it nearly half its business in the current year.

More Stories on : Water | Overseas Investments

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