Forging ahead in Europe

Within a year of taking over Carl Dang Peddinghaus GmbH, Baba Kalyani’s Bharat Forge, the second-largest forging maker in the world, is once again making news in German territory. The prey, this time round, is aluminum forging maker CDP Aluminium-technik with an enviable client-list that includes BMW, Ford, Audi and Volkswagen. CDP AT could be a small, but strategic acquisition nonetheless, as it gives the company a toehold in the aluminum forgings segment.

The acquisition, valued at 6.3 million euros (Rs 37 crore) would be an all-cash deal. It enables Bharat’s existing customers to source a complete spectrum of forged auto components across steel and aluminum segments. The deal makes eminent sense in view of the fact that high-end passenger cars abroad are seeing an increased use of aluminum components. Revenues, however, would primarily be driven by higher price realisation of aluminum forgings, as volumes would be somewhat subdued compared to that of conventional forgings. The acquisition, coming in the wake of Baba’s nomination among the Forbes’ 40 richest Indians, is of course the ‘icing on the cake’ for the Kalyanis. Clearly, Pune to Germany is the best short-cut to aggressive global growth.

Beyond greenfield options

Health care biggies are growing bigger and going national. Wockhardt Hospitals, Habil Khorakiwala’s healthcare arm has lined up new projects in Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore. Only last year, it had earmarked Rs 500 crore to fund its expansion plans. But the real action is beyond the ambitious greenfield projects. The company is in active exploration mode for acquisition opportunities, particularly in the smaller cities. Its successful acquisition of a 50-bed Nagpur Hospital and its subsequent conversion into a full-fledged cardiac care hospital keeps the company in the hunt for future targets. And it may well see some acquisitions coming through the coming year. The Nagpur acquisition had effectively marked the company’s entry into central India. It does make sense to take the acquisition route to expand into the small and medium cities, when competition is hotting up in the big metros. After all, acquisitions save on ‘lead-up’ time and also more often than not, turn out to be economical as well. So, the competitive turf for branded health care might just be getting stretched deeper into the smaller cities.

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