Warburg to invest $110 mn in Havells

Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm, will invest $110 million in country's electrical and power distribution equipment company Havells India.

Havells will issue fresh shares and warrants to Warburg Pincus, representing approximately 11.2 per cent of the fully diluted share capital of the company.

SSKI (a subsidiary of IDFC) was the financial advisor and Amarchand Mangaldas provided legal advice to Warburg Pincus on this transaction.

Havells India, $1.2 billion enterprise and one of country's fastest growing electrical and power distribution equipment companies, manufactures products ranging from building circuit protection, industrial & domestic switchgears, cables & wires, energy meters, fans, CFL lamps, luminaries for domestic, commercial & industrial application, and modular switches.

Havells also owns prestigious global brands like Crabtree (Indian Region), Sylvania, Lumiance and Zenith, among others.

Qimat Rai Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, Havells India, said: "We welcome Warburg Pincus as a significant shareholder of the company. We believe that this investment reflects the confidence of the global financial community in our business model and growth aspirations."

Expanding on the investments, Anil Gupta, joint managing director of Havells said the equity placement would provide the company with additional debt raising capacity.

Julie Johnson Staples, Head of Communications, Warburg Pincus, said: "Our investment in Havells India is reflective of our confidence in the management team of the company. We look forward to working together with Havells India's management team to help the company achieve its long term vision."

Warburg Pincus has been a leading global private equity investor and has approximately $20 billion of assets under management and invests across a range of sectors, including financial services, information and communication technology, healthcare, consumer, industrial, media and business services, energy and real estate.

Over a twelve-year period, Warburg Pincus have invested approximately $2 billion in India making it one of the largest private equity investors in the country.

The firm's past and current investments in India include Ambuja Cements, Bharti Airtel, Dainik Bhaskar, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Max India, Moser Baer, Nicholas Piramal, Punj Lloyd, Sintex Industries, Lemon Tree Hotels and WNS Global Services.