Mumbai/Kolkata: Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has announced the closure of the strategic divestment of its Electrical & Automation (L&T E&A) business to Schneider Electric, a global player in energy management and automation.
The divestment is in line with L&T’s stated goal of unlocking value for future growth. Its exit from the Electrical & Automation Business is a part of the strategic portfolio review process.
A.M. Naik, Group Chairman, Larsen & Toubro said, “The closure of divestment of the E&A business is a key milestone in our stated long-term strategy. The challenge was to carve out a business of this scale, with minimum disruption to the sprawling customer base and do it all amid the constraints of a pandemic.”
A.M. Naik said, “We believe Schneider Electric is the right partner to grow the business that L&T had nurtured and grown over decades. We truly believe that this deal with Schneider Electric is a win-win for our employees, business partners, and shareholders.”
S.N. Subrahmanyan, CEO & MD, Larsen & Toubro said, “This all-cash deal will help us create a much stronger balance sheet, thereby creating long-term value opportunities for our stakeholders by focusing on key aspects of business. The deal was a complex M&A transaction involving slump sale of the domestic business and share purchase transfer. This is in sync with our strategy to look at L&T in broadly three areas, EPC Construction & Projects, Manufacturing & Defence and Services.”
L&T’s E&A business with its wide range of low and medium voltage switch gear, electrical systems, industrial and building automation solutions, energy management systems, metering solutions and projects and services business are transferred to Schneider Electric. Schneider Electric will use related brand insignia for a specified period as the brand is very popular and has a strong brand recall in the switch gear market.
About 5,000 employees of the E&A business will become part of Schneider Electric. The manufacturing facilities of E&A in Navi Mumbai, Ahmednagar, Vadodara, Coimbatore and Mysuru in India and related subsidiaries in UAE, Kuwait, Malaysia and Indonesia are also being transferred to Schneider Electric.
In view of the pending local approvals, the subsidiary in Saudi Arabia, L&T Electrical & Automation Saudi Arabia Company Limited (LTEASA), will be transferred to Schneider, once the requisite regulatory approvals are in place.