Enamoured by the growth in the ship-building industry, engineering firm Larsen & Tourbo, shipping company Great Offshore and private equity funds Blackstone, Abraaj Capital and Apax Partners are eyeing a stake in the south-based Tebma Shipyards.
Tebma Shipyards is India’s third largest private ship-building firm after ABG and Bharati Shipyard. Owned largely by ICICI Venture, Tebma, as part of expansion strategy, plans to build a facility in West Bengal.
The project, spread across 150 acres, entails a cost of Rs 500 crore ($125 million). Sources say the company plans to raise this amount through a mix of equity and debt. Various parties, including strategic and private equity funds, have approached ICICI Venture to invest in Tebma Shipyards, as rapid growth in the domestic sector continues to lure firms. Ship-building players earn operating margins of 20-25% helped by 30% export subsidy.
The West Bengal shipyard will be Tebma’s third facility, in addition to its Chengalpattu (70km from Chennai) and Malpe in Karnataka. The company will issue fresh equity to the investor and accordingly, ICICI Venture’s stake in Tebma Shipyards will come down, market sources said. The new shareholder is likely to get upto 26% stake for $100 million in Tebma Shipyards. The Rs 400 crore Tebma has an order book position of $400 million.
Similar to publishing firm Infomedia and heat resistant cement products maker ACE Refractories, Tebma too has been a buyout deal by ICICI Venture.
Last year, the private equity arm of ICICI Bank bought a 33% stake in Tebma Shipyards and increased its holding to 53% by acquiring additional shares through open offer. Several small investors hold the remaining shares in the company.
The second largest shareholder is Balan, founder of Tebma, who holds about 9% stake. It may be noted that ICICI Venture exited ACE Refractories by selling stake to French firm Calderys while it sold its interests in Infomedia to Network 18 group. Indian ship-building companies are ramping up capacities, thanks to the supply constraints faced by Chinese and Korean shipyards, leaders in the ship-building industry.
Source: Times of India