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Our Bureau

Chennai, Aug. 9 Larsen & Toubro Ltd plans to raise about Rs 2,400 crore through a placement with qualified institutional buyers, for which it is seeking its shareholders’ approval.

In its notice to shareholders for the annual general meeting scheduled for August 29, L&T has said that the company requires adequate capital to meet the needs of the growing business. To leverage available business opportunities, the company may opt for issue of securities through qualified institutions placement (QIP). A QIP of the company’s shares would be less time-consuming and more economical, the notice said.

At the meeting, L&T will also seek its shareholders’ nod to re-appoint six directors, including Mr A.M. Naik, the Chairman and Managing Director. The others are: Mr J.P. Nayak, President (Machinery and Industry Products); Mr Y.M. Deosthalee, Chief Financial Officer; Mr K. Venkataramanan, President (Engineering and Construction Projects); Mr K.V. Rangaswami, President (Construction); and Mr V.K. Magapu, Senior Executive Vice-President (IT and Technology Services).

The company last year increased the retirement age of its senior management from 65 to 70 years. Mr Naik is 66 years old and Mr Nayak 65 years.

L&T’s 2007-08 annual report talks about the company’s plans to re-organise its businesses to industry or customer segments. As part of this, it plans to create 12 operating companies within the existing L&T corporate structure. Each operating company will be responsible for its strategic and operational decisions and performance.

Each operating company will have independent support functions, such as finance and accounts, HR, supply chain management, and corporate centre.

The annual report says that due to encouraging changes in the opportunity landscape, the company has embarked on a project to look beyond 2010 and formulate a perspective plan till 2015. This exercise is meant to align the company’s investments (both capital and manpower) to the long-term trends, while addressing emerging opportunities and unseen challenges.

L&T has also initiated a structured leadership development programme to identify leaders and develop them. “This exercise is expected not only to meet short-term operational challenges but also create a band of leaders to take on larger responsibilities in future,” says the annual report.

More Stories on : Private Placement | Engineering | Larsen & Toubro Ltd

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