The over $54-billion United Technologies Corp (UTC), a diversified company, has taken to inorganic route to step up its presence in India.
Setting its sight clearly on upping its India business to $2.5 billion by 2015 from the current little over $600 million, UTC has announced the acquisition of a couple of Chennai-based companies through its subsidiaries.
One of its arms Carrier, a well-known name in heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration space, has penned a pact to acquire Sauter Race Technologies, a joint venture building automation and management systems company based here.
Sauter Race was set up in 1992 as a joint venture (26:74) between Sauter AG of Switzerland and Indian partners. With a turnover of nearly Rs.90 crore, the joint venture has a headcount of around 360 people. While officials have declined to divulge the details of the strategic acquisition, it is gleaned from informed sources that a complete takeover of the company by Carrier would happen in phases over a three-year time-frame. Sources said that Carrier would first buy out the Swiss partner and pick up a part of the Indian holdings to gain controlling stake in the company. Eventually, Carrier would be the full owner of Sauter Race. Since the focus in the Indian market had shifted away from building management solutions to wider range (including integrated safety, security and fire protection systems), the Swiss partner had decided to call it quits.
UTC Climate, Controls and Security System, one more arm of the global group, completed an agreement to take controlling stake in the nearly Rs.150-crore Agnice Fire Protection Ltd., which was set up in 1995. Agnice has an employee base of 480 and executed around 250 turnkey projects.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday, Zubin Irani, President of UTC Climate, Controls and Security Systems-India, declined to divulge any details either on the shares acquired or the consideration paid. Mr. Irani said that the product capabilities of UTC and the execution skills of Agnice would go a long way in scaling up business. The strategic focus of UTC fitted well with Agnice, which was targeting sectors such as power, petroleum and oil and gas. “With acquisitions such as these, we enhance our position by building scale, reach, product offerings and customer service capabilities across the country,” Mr. Irani added.
The portfolio of UTC products include Carrier heating and air-conditioning, Hamilton Sundstrand aerospace systems and industrial products, Otis elevators and escalators, Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines, Sikorsky helicopters, UTC fire and security systems and UTC power fuel cells.
