India's steel and automotive industries were in the limelight with acquisitions and joint ventures.
JSW Steel acquires US-based Acero Junction
Indian steelmaker JSW Steel Ltd has agreed to acquire US-based steel mill owner Acero Junction Holdings Inc. for up to $80.85 million (Rs 527 crore) in cash to expand its North America operations.
The acquisition will help JSW Steel establish its presence in Ohio, US, and gain deeper access to the North American steel market, the company said in a stock-exchange filing last week.
The deal comes barely days after the company said it would invest $500 million in its Texas unit, which it had acquired in 2007.
The transaction for Acero is likely to close in 60 days' time, subject to fulfilment of certain conditions precedent, the filing said.
Acero Junction Holdings was set up in July 2016 and recorded revenue of $44.27 million until the end of December 2017. It owns 100 per cent of Acero Junction Inc., which runs a steel mill that produces hot-rolled coils. The company supplies hot-rolled bands to coil processors, cold-rolled strip producers, pipe and tubers, original equipment manufacturers and steel service centres across North America.
The company expects North America's demand for hot rolled bands to grow to 28 million tons.
M&M to form JV with Ideal Motors
Indian car manufacturing corporation Mahindra & Mahindra said it will form a joint venture with Sri Lanka′s Ideal Motors to assemble vehicles in the island nation.
The company will hold 35 per cent of the share capital in the joint venture (JV), with the remaining proposed to be held by Ideal or any of its affiliates, M&M said in a regulatory filing.
The new company will be formed for the purpose of assembling vehicles in Sri Lanka and M&M′s investment will not be more than 25 crore Sri Lankan rupees. The deal is subject to requisite RBI approvals, it added.
The company did not elaborate what type of vehicles would be assembled through the new joint venture.
The homegrown auto major has a range of utility vehicles and SUV besides being a major player in tractor segment.
Zensar to acquire Cynosure for $33mn
Pune-headquartered information technology service provider Zensar said it will acquire US-based Cynosure for about $33 million, a move that will help the Indian firm strengthen its play in the insurance vertical.
Cynosure focuses on providing Guidewire platform implementation services to Property and Casualty (P&C) insurance carriers and clocked revenues of about $20 million in 2017.
Sandeep Kishore, CEO and MD, Zensar, said the addition of Cynosure will help them strengthen their insurance vertical that accounts for about 15 per cent of their business.
The acquisition will be funded by a mix of internal accruals and external debt.
As part of the deal, the entire share capital of Cynosure Interface Solutions (Cynosure India) will be acquired for an amount not exceeding Rs 13 crore ($2 million).
Zensar Technologies Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zensar, will acquire the entire share capital of Cynosure Inc for approximately $31 million and deferred payments, subject to meeting the performance targets over the 24 months post-closing.
Following the acquisition, Cynosure will continue to be managed by the founders led by its CEO and co-founder Sid Wadhwa. The management and team of Cynosure in the US and Bengaluru, India comprising of over 150 people, will become a part of Zensar′s insurance vertical.
