Press Releases
Wednesday
January 19, 2011
To pursue India nuclear business even more aggressively
Mumbai: Rolta today announced that it has sold its 50% share in Shaw Rolta Limited (SWRL) to its joint venture partner, Stone & Webster, Inc. – a subsidiary of The Shaw Group, Inc. The effective date of this transaction is December 31, 2010.
Rolta has been able to unlock substantial value in SWRL to its best advantage. For its 50% shares that have a face value of approximately US$ 100,000 (Rs. 50 Lacs), the sale agreement provides for an immediate receipt by Rolta of a sum of US$ 27.5 Million (about Rs. 125 Crores), and in addition, about US$ 8.0 Million (Rs. 36 Crores) over the next two years, for defined services, aggregating to about US$ 35.5 Million (nearly Rs. 160 Crores) as total consideration per the agreement. SWRL paid a dividend of Rs. 1 Crore each to Rolta and Shaw for the last financial year ending on June 30, 2010.
SWRL was established as a 50:50 joint venture in 2004 to serve as an off-shore engineering center for Shaw’s global projects, and to focus on EPCm business in India, including the nuclear energy sector. The Shaw Group perceives that market and regulatory limitations have made nuclear power projects unattractive in India and accordingly have no active plan to pursue nuclear power business in India unless these limitations are removed or suitably modified. Rolta is completely committed to and continues to strongly participate in India’s growth story and its emerging nuclear power market. To resolve certain exclusivity provisions in SWRL’s charter and to empower each partner to follow their respective business strategies, Rolta and Shaw have agreed to place ownership of 100% of SWRL with The Shaw Group. In addition, The Shaw Group has agreed that in the event Shaw decides to pursue nuclear power projects in India, they will address any such opportunity first with Rolta and Rolta will also have the right of first refusal.
Rolta is already working with various Indian government organizations like NPCIL and other leading agencies on sophisticated projects in the nuclear power sector, such as the prestigious engineering design project for a significant nuclear reactor system of international importance involving a high level of specialized expertise in conceptual design, system development, finite element analysis, and safety analysis, besides multi-disciplinary engineering competence and domain expertise. Rolta is also in advanced stages of finalizing partnerships with world-leading companies to further strengthen its position in the design and engineering market.
Mr. K.K. Singh, Chairman & Managing Director of Rolta said, “This is a win-win situation for both partners. After a very satisfactory performance by the JV, this transaction enables both Rolta and Shaw to pursue their business strategies independently and still provides Rolta the right to leverage The Shaw Group’s expertise and track record in nuclear power over the next five years, as and when Shaw desires to serve the Indian nuclear energy market.”
About Rolta: Rolta is an Indian multinational organization that has executed projects in over 40 countries. Rolta is among the world’s leading providers of geospatial solutions and services, with a unique solutions framework – Rolta Geospatial Fusion™. Rolta’s intellectual property repository contains cutting-edge software for earth sciences, including technologies acquired from world leaders, providing the foundation for C4ISTAR information systems, Military Communications, Digital Soldier, and Vehicle Systems covering the entire “sensor to shooter” chain, and for sophisticated Homeland Security Solutions. Rolta offers EPCm services for the entire lifecycle of plants in Oil & Gas, Power and Chemical/Petrochemical industries. Rolta OneView™ is an innovative business intelligence solution for the process industry for operational excellence. Rolta’s portfolio of IT solutions includes Rolta iPerspective™, an innovative suite of software for enterprise-level integration and SoA enablement of applications, and providing state-of-the-art technology for exploiting cloud computing. Rolta, headquartered in Mumbai, employs over 4000 professionals with countrywide infrastructure and international subsidiaries across the globe. The Company has benchmarked its quality processes against the world's best quality standards. Forbes Global has ranked Rolta amongst the "Best 200 under a Billion" for four times in six years. Rolta was included in the S&P Global Challengers List™ 2008, by Standard & Poor’s. This List identifies 300 mid-sized companies worldwide that have shown the highest growth characteristics along dimensions encompassing intrinsic and extrinsic growth. Rolta has been ranked among the leading employers, year after year, in the DATAQUEST surveys of Best Employers in the IT sector. The Company is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange in cash and F&O segment, and forms part of various indices on BSE/NSE. The Company's GDRs are listed on the Main Board of London Stock Exchange and its FCCBs are listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.
For additional information:
Atul Tayal
Joint Managing Director
Telephone: +91 (22) 2926 6666
E-mail: adtayal@rolta.com
A.P. Singh
Joint Managing Director
Telephone:+91 (22) 2926 6666
E-mail: ap.singh@rolta.com
Hiranya Ashar
Director Finance and CFO
Telephone: +91 (22) 2926 6666
E-mail: hiranya.ashar@rolta.com
