Blackstone to acquire controlling stake in Agile Electric Works for 650 crore

Blackstone to acquire controlling stake in Agile Electric Works for 650 crorePrivate equity firm Blackstone Group LP has confirmed that it would acquire a majority stake in Chennai-headquartered auto parts maker Agile Electric Works Ltd for around Rs. 650 crore (around $110M).

Blackstone will take over Agile Electric along with its listed subsidiary Igarashi Motors India Ltd (IMIL), in which Agile Electric owns 60 per cent stake.

In the two-legged transaction, the private equity firm will pick up 98 per cent of the parent firm and that in turn will provide the buyer with a 62 per cent stake in IMIL. Ina addition, the transaction will reportedly trigger an open offer for another 26 per cent stake in the firm.

A person with direct knowledge of the transaction said, "Agile Electric is a leading firm in the DC motors space. A car on average has 30-35 DC motors in it. The key attraction of this company is that 10-15 top original equipment makers or OEMs are their clients."

Agile Electric Works Ltd was advised by boutique investment bank MAPE Advisory Group Pvt. Ltd on the deal.

Blackstone is well-known for acquiring controlling stakes in firms across the globe. But, in India, a majority of its transactions are minority stakes.

Since 2005, Blackstone has invested more than $2.9 billion in a total of 27 transactions. The list of its buyout transactions in India includes CMS Infosystems Pvt. Ltd, Intelenet Global services Pvt. Ltd, and Gokaldas Exports Ltd.