Wipro arm to buy Swedish firm

Wipro Infrastructure Engineering, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wipro Ltd, is taking over Sweden-based Hydrauto Group AB for $31 million in an all-cash deal.

Subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, the acquisition is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2006-07.

This is Wipro's seventh acquisition in the last 10 months and the first in this sector.

Hydrauto, a $112 million firm, provides hydraulic components and solutions in Europe. Hydrauto is a Tier 1 supplier to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of material handling, forestry, construction and earth-moving equipment. According to Wipro, Hydrauto is a profitable entity with positive operating cash flow.

The company has five manufacturing locations, four in Sweden and one in Finland.

Anurag Behar, managing director, Wipro Infrastructure Engineering, said: "This acquisition gives Wipro Infrastructure Engineering a unique Asia-Europe footprint, a customer base built over the last few decades and deep complementary engineering skills. Being together will have a multiplier effect on competitiveness."

Wipro Infrastructure Engineering closed 2005-06 with a topline of $57 million and provides precision engineered hydraulic components and solutions in India.

Wipro Infrastructure Engineering is a Tier 1 supplier to OEMs of construction and earth-moving machinery, material handling equipment, heavy and medium commercial vehicles in India and the rest of Asia.

Hydraulic components are globally a $17 billion industry, catering to construction equipment, material handling, and farm and industrial segments. Growth in India is being driven by the huge investments in the infrastructure and industrial segments.

Added Olov Larsson, CEO of Hydrauto: "The Hydrauto team looks forward to becoming a part of the Wipro family. We think that Wipro is a perfect fit, being leaders in Asia and having an established presence in the Asia Pacific region."