Motherson to raise Rs 1000cr through IPO

NEW DELHI: Samvardhana Motherson Reflectec (SMR), one of the world’s biggest automobile rearview mirror maker, has said it will raise up to Rs 1000 crore from the Indian or Singapore market through an IPO to fund expansion plans as the company increases capacity to meet orders worth 800 million euros, (approximately Rs 4800 crore) that it bagged from automakers in Europe.
V C Sehgal, chairman of the Rs 7000 crore Samvardhana Motherson group, told TOI that the company wanted to raise the money by the middle of 2010 and will issue fresh shares to mop up the funds.
SMR produces and distributes exterior and interior mirrors to nearly every automotive manufacturer in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia and its customers include BMW, Chrysler, Daimler, Ford, GM, Hyundai, and Volkswagen. It was formed after the group acquired UK’s Visiocorp in 2009 when the latter was going through turbulent times due to the economic recession.
Sehgal said SMR’s order book for the next five to six years is currently worth around Rs 4800 crore as demand was picking up across markets. “We are expecting further orders in the coming months as the car market drives into a revival mode with economies looking up across continents.” The revival in the car market has seen revenues of SMR turning around.