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The Mehsana-based Sintex Industries Ltd, a leader in the field of plastics in the country, today signed a memorandum of understanding for acquiring a strategic majority stake in Zeppelin Mobile System India Ltd, which features among the top two telecom shelter manufacturers in India.
The MoU was signed in Kalol in the Mehsana district of Gujarat between executives of Sintex Industries and SK Baheri, managing director, Zeppelin Mobile System India.
According to Sintex executives, the formal acquisition of the majority stake will come into effect after three months, once the mandatory legal and financial due diligence and requisite regulatory approval are completed. Zeppelin Mobile System India is a closely held company and a subsidiary of Zeppelin Mobile System GmbH, Germany.
It has more than doubled its sales in the country over the past three years. Zeppelin India has been providing shelters to the telecommunications industry for four years.
"Sintex will pick up over 70 per cent stake in Zeppelin India, which reported a turnover of Rs 40 crore (Rs 400 million) in the past financial year," said LM Rathod, executive president (finance), Sintex Industries.
Telecom shelters are installed at the base of mobile towers set up by telecom companies. Zeppelin India is into the designing and commissioning of sophisticated polyurethane foam-based shelters and structures for mobile hospitals, refrigerated bodies and other multi-purpose shelters.
It features among the top two telecom shelter manufacturers in India with a market share of about 25 percent. It supplies to all leading telecom players in India namely Bharti, Reliance, Hutchison, BPL, TATA Indicom and others.
Sintex Industries Limited posted a turnover of Rs 547 crore (Rs 5.47 billion) for the 2003-04 fiscal and clocked a turnover of Rs 424 crore (Rs 4.24 billion) for the nine months ended December 31, 2004. ZMSIL has its manufacturing facilities at Noida in UP.
After the central government declared the telecom policy in 1999, investments started flowing into the Indian telecom industry and the operators started making their plans for expansion.
Since the year 2000-01, ZMSIL has supplied shelters to Hutchison Max Telecom Limited, Hughes Telecom Ltd., Bharti Telecom Ltd., Essar CellPhone, Escotel, Bharti Telesonic. The company has to its credit the feat of setting up one of the largest shelters in India on a 2000 feet hill in Andhra Pradesh.