KEC buys SAE Towers of US for $95 million

KEC International,a leading power transmission engineering,procurement and construction major,has acquired US-based SAE Towers for $95 million (around Rs 445 crore) on a cash-free and debt-free basis. Texas-based SAE is a leading manufacturer of steel lattice transmission towers,with an annual production capacity of 1 lakh metric tonnes. “The acquisition is strategic to KEC,as it will help the company enter more geographies and add significantly to its revenues and bottomline,” KEC Managing Director Ramesh Chandak said. KEC,part of the RPG Group,had acquired a 100 per cent stake in SAE from a private equity firm,Acon Investments. With this deal,KEC’s overseas business will grow up by 15-20 per cent,Chandak said. At present,KEC’s total turnover is around Rs 3,900 crore,Chandak said.

KEC shares rose by 1.70 per cent to Rs 494.55 on the BSE on Tuesday.

The deal would also help the company be PAT positive in the first year itself,he said. It would also take the company’s current order-book from Rs 6,000 crore to Rs 6,592 crore,he said,adding that the company’s current capacity utilisation will grow to 100 per cent from current 60 per cent. This would also help both the companies draw synergies from each other in terms of their leadership position in their respective markets.

While SAE has the highest market share in Brazil,the US and Mexico,KEC exports its products to 26 countries in the Middle East,Africa and the CIS region.