Making its first major move in the Indian market, French company Schneider Electric on Tuesday announced that it had bought 74 per cent stake in leading Indian inverter maker Luminous Power Technologies for Rs.1,400 crore. This move will give the French giant access to the domestic retail market for electrical goods.
“The joint venture with Luminous will provide a strong platform for Schneider to reach out to Indian consumers,” Schneider Managing Director (India) Olivier Blum said here. As per the deal between the two companies, Schneider would acquire a 74 per cent stake in Luminous for Rs.1,400 crore. The remaining 26 per cent shareholding would be with its founders and this stake would be subject to put and call options. Luminous had a debt of Rs.240 crore at the end of last fiscal.
Schneider has now made eight acquisitions in India, including the Luminous deal. The APW President and Digilink acquisitions were completed earlier this year. Luminous, which offers inverters, UPS and power storage systems, among other products, raked in Rs.1,100-crore revenue for the year ended March 31, 2011. “The deal will help us tap Luminous' strong distribution network and access to over 25,000 point of sales. We will also consider development of new products in due course,” Schneider Electric India's Director (Strategy and Alliances), Manish Pant said.
Mr. Manish Pant would be the Managing Director of the joint venture, which would continue to be known as Luminous Power Technologies. Noting the joint venture would provide business continuity, Mr. Blum said Luminous would continue to remain as a separate entity without any branding changes.
Luminous would also bring a customer base, with three million existing inverter users, as well as access to institutional clients in the government and telecom sectors.
“There is a great potential in the partnership with Schneider. Luminous needs global market access,” Luminous founder and chairman, Rakesh Malhotra said.
