Telecom equipment manufacturer Kavveri Telecom is looking for overseas acquisitions to support its entry into new businesses such as Defence and aerospace.

The company is planning three acquisitions this year to support new product development, new business initiatives and also to help it become an “end-to-end full service wireless infrastructure product and solutions company,” Mr Shivakumar Reddy – Managing Director, Kavveri Telecom Products, told Business Line . Kavveri will also be hiring about 100 people to support this initiative, he added.

To fund the acquisitions, the promoters of the company will increase their stake to 37 per cent from 32 per cent. The BSE-listed company will issue warrants convertible into equity shares, expected to be allotted to the promoter directors and non-promoters of the company.

The funds will also be used to expand its R&D team to develop solutions for defence components and subsystems, according to Mr Reddy. The company is working on embedded technology and will focus on upgrading its analog systems with digital, radiofrequency systems to upgrade its range of telecom and defence products, he said.

The company usually spends about six per cent of its revenues on R&D, which would amount to about Rs 15 crore this year. It is also planning to set up more R&D centres this year in India and abroad.

Kavveri is also investing $2 million to set up a manufacturing facility near Bangalore to manufacture antennas for export, Mr Reddy said. The plant is expected to start functioning in a few weeks.

The Bangalore-based telecom equipment manufacturer makes radio frequency products and antennas and supplies to companies including Alcatel Lucent, Nokia Siemens Networks, Bharat Electronics, RCom, Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Aircel and BSNL.

> sushma.un@thehindu.co.in

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