| "The company had many interested parties, but the deal is moving towards Roca," the source said. "It may be formalised in a few weeks." |
| Company officials, however, told Business Standard that the finalisation of deal would take a few more weeks. |
| "We are negotiating with global companies for a stake," the company's vice-chairman, A Vellayan, told Reuters, confirming that Roca was among them. "It is not that we are not going to run the business, we will run it." |
| "We are looking at what kind of technology they can bring in and how relevant they are for India," he added. |
| Roca is a family-owned sanitaryware maker founded in 1917. |
| EID Parry board had on October 20, 2005, approved transfer of Parryware to a wholly owned subsidiary subject to various regulatory approvals (including approval of the shareholders of the company). |
| EID Parry sells bathroom fixtures under the brand name Parryware. The spin-off of the sanitaryware business is in line with the company's intent of sharpening focus on its core sugar business, which contributes most of its revenue, the source said. The spin-off move was also seen as a precursor to a stake sale. |
| The company is also in talks with international players having expertise in sanitary and bathroom solutions to become a strategic partner in the wholly-owned subsidiary. |
| EID Parry's shares rose as much as 4.3 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange, and ended 2.3 per cent higher at Rs 225.20 rupees, valuing the entire company at close to $450 million. |
| Parryware currently has 40 per cent market share in the country's Rs 700-crore organised sanitaryware market. Parryware forayed into the taps and fitting accessories in 2004. At present, it has 6 per cent market share and expects to improve it to 10 per cent this year. |
| SPANISH FLY |
| |
Top Section
Explore Business Standard