3i, a leading private equity and venture capital company, will acquire a 6.6% stake in Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren Ltd. for US$80mn.
” We believe the company's international footprint, strong customer relationships, cutting edge technology, backed by a strong demand environment, is a winning proposition. We look forward to a close relationship as an actively engaged shareholder, leveraging our expertise in the oil & gas sector to further the company’s prospects,” said Chris Rowlands, 3i Managing Partner, Asia.
Welspun Gujarat is the flagship company of the Welspun Group, led by B.K. Goenka, and is listed on the Indian and Luxembourg Stock Exchanges.
The company is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of line pipes used by the oil & gas sector and is in the midst of executing an ambitious expansion plan, including adding new capacity, backward integration into manufacture of plates and coils and establishing an overseas presence with a facility in the US.
The company counts the world’s largest oil & gas companies, including Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Saudi Aramco, as its customers. Post completion of the ’s expansion plans, it will have a total capacity of 1.75mn tons per annum, up from 1mn tons per annum currently.
Welspun Gujarat has the distinction of having supplied pipes for the world's deepest gas pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico and was ranked 39th by Standard & Poor amongst India's top 100 companies.
Source: India Infoline