McNally Bharat Engineering Company (MBE), a civil engineering and turnkey project execution company in the B. M. Khaitan fold, is scouting for acquisitions in Europe, hoping to gain technology edge in the areas of oil and gas, cement and water, Chairman Dipak Khaitan said.
Addressing a pressmeet here on Friday he said that the size of the company might be around $50 million and in West Europe. The German manufacturing business acquired by McNally Bharat in May 2009, has also been asked to look for acquisition targets. The buy also brought with it the company's cement, minerals technology and business in India and three overseas countries.
He said that MBE which is targeting a Rs. 5,000-crore turnover by 2015 (from Rs. 1,484 crore in 2009-10), was placing an increased thrust on business from overseas companies and expected the share of overseas orders to increase to 30 per cent from 10 per cent now. It is planning to expand activities in South Africa, South America and China through its German outfit even as it readies itself to tap the opportunities in Africa. Mr. Khaitan said that in May this year, the company won its first overseas order in Zambia valued at Rs. 114 crore. This will be executed through a newly formed subsidiary.
Meanwhile, steps are also being taken to change the name of its wholly-owned subsidiary from MBE Holdings Pte Ltd to MBE Mineral Technologies Pte Ltd, which will act as a holding company and the owner of the various technologies that MBE now possesses either on its own or through its acquisitions. Mr. Khaitan said that once this company was registered under the Ministry the Science and Technology of Singapore, it would enjoy a favoured status. MBE also plans to set up four new subsidiaries in Brazil, Australia, Russia and South Africa. To strengthen its business growth plan by 2015, McNally Bharat had appointed KPMG, PwC and E&Y to prepare and monitor a growth strategy, an organisational restructuring and an operational control strategy, Mr. Khaitan said.
Order-booking stood at Rs. 1,700 crore in the first quarter of 2010-11.
