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Shapoorji Pallonji Group is planning to gather about US$ 1 billion by bringing outside investors into its solar unit. The 153-year-old conglomerate is set for a series of asset sales in order to reduce debt.
According to Jai Mavani, executive director stated that the group will sell as much as 30% in the solar engineering arm of Sterling & Wilson Pvt. The funds would be raised through a pre-listing stake sale followed by a public offering.
Mavani also said that a separate listing of the water purification unit, Eureka Forbes Ltd, from publicly-traded Forbes & Co, is also under consideration. He added that part of the proceeds will be used to pare debt.
Mavani in an interview said, “We have leveraged ourselves to the level that we believe is sustainable but, beyond a point, we want to create equity for ourselves. Be it, Sterling & Wilson or Eureka Forbes, their real value is a multiple of what’s in the balance sheet.”
The conglomerate which is most famous for its construction of Sultan of Oman’s palace spans into engineering and construction, energy and infrastructure, real estate, textiles, financial services and water services.
Sterling & Wilson Chairman Khurshed Daruvala said that the solar unit, which provides engineering, procurement and construction services, will generate 95 billion rupees of revenue for the year ended March 2019.
