Deepak Cables (India) Ltd has announced a private equity investment of Rs2bn from IDFC Private Equity (IDFC PE), India’s leading private equity fund focussed on infrastructure. Deepak Cables is one of the leading players in the power Transmission & Distribution (T&D) space having captive aluminium conductor manufacturing facilities.
Bangalore based Deepak Cables was promoted by visionary industrialist K. Surya Rao. It started in 1982 as an aluminium conductors manufacturing company and over the last two decades has grown to become one of the largest T&D EPC players in the country. Deepak Cables with its two aluminium conductor manufacturing plants at Tumkur and Pondicherry and in-house design and engineering capabilities is one of the few players having the expertise to execute projects end-to-end: from design to commissioning.
The Company has an impressive client list of leading public sector T&D entities such as KPTCL, PGCIL, MSEDCL, Discoms and several prestigious private sector companies.
K. Venkateshwara Rao, Managing Director of Deepak Cables who is credited for the Company’s impressive growth over the past decade said, “We are delighted to have IDFC PE as an investor in our Company. We would like to work with the PE investors to help us achieve greater strides in building India’s power infrastructure. Given the Government’s strong emphasis in five-year plans on T&D upgradation, Deepak Cables through its state-of-the-art aluminium conductor manufacturing capabilities foresees huge potential in re-conductoring contracts across the country. Harnessing this potential would enable us to rapidly scale up the business and embark on newer areas of power T&D.”
The transaction underlines IDFC PE’s commitment to the energy sector. Some of the other energy sector related investments made by IDFC PE in the recent past include Suzlon’s SE Forge (one of the world’s largest manufacturers of wind mill components) and Moser Baer's PV Technologies (a manufacturer of solar cells using multiple technologies). Through this investment in Deepak Cables, IDFC PE expects to play an active role in creating an efficient T&D infrastructure in the country. Globally for every rupee invested in generation, an equivalent sum is invested in T&D. In order to correct the existing imbalance in India, substantial investments in T&D have been proposed by the central and state governments, which would provide growth opportunities for Deepak Cables.
Commenting on the investment, Satish Mandhana, Managing Director, IDFC PE, commented, “We are pleased to partner Deepak Cables, a fast growing player in T&D sector. The Company’s qualifications and track record for executing T&D turnkey projects, coupled with its cost efficient aluminium conductor manufacturing facilities provide it a strong footing in the business. We firmly believe that along with generation projects, an efficient T&D infrastructure has become extremely critical for powering a rapidly growing India. We look forward to a long and productive partnership with the Company.”
With this investment, Deepak Cables has raised a total amount of Rs2.85bn to give impetus to its growth plans. Deepak Cables had raised an amount of Rs850mn in June 2008 in a round led by UTI Ventures.
o3 Capital was the sole advisor for the deal. T. R. Srinivas, Director, o3 Capital added, “Having IDFC PE as an investor will give an enormous fillip to the new initiatives being undertaken by Deepak Cables”.
Source: India Infoline