Chennai, July 26(UNI) Continuing its acquisition spree of last year, Chennai-based industrial conglomerate Murugappa Group began this fiscal with the acquisition of a majority stake in an electric truck maker for Rs 246 crore. Murugappa Group’s electric vehicle company TI Clean Mobility Private Ltd has inked an agreement to acquire a 62.5 percent stake in IPLTech Private Ltd. With this, TI Clean Mobility plans to add electric trucks to its existing portfolio of electric three-wheelers and tractors.
TI Clean Mobility a wholly-owned subsidiary of multi- product company Tube Investments of India Ltd – will acquire the majority stakes in the Rs 13 crore revenue IPLTech by a combination of share purchase from the equity shareholders (Rs 96 crore) and a fresh infusion of equity (Rs 150 crore). The acquisition is expected to be completed on or before October 31.
Tube Investments will infuse an additional Rs 150 crore as equity in TI Clean Mobility and also provide Rs 100 crore as an inter-corporate deposit. Meanwhile, TI Clean Mobility will soon launch its electric three-wheeler – passenger and good carrier – and later, the electric tractors.
“The three-wheelers will be in the premium segment and will be launched by the end of August or in September this year. The vehicles are rolled out of Tube In- vestments’ plant here,” Tube Investments Executive Chairman Arun Murugappan recently said. According to him, the company will launch three models in the three-wheeler segment under the brand Montra. As regards the distribution network, Murugappan said the company has a presence in 40 locations and the number will go up to 100 by the end of this year.
He said the initial production capacity of the three-wheelers will be 75,000 per annum and will be increased based on the demand. Murugappan also said the initial outlay for the electric three-wheeler business is about Rs 200 crore and there are no plans to access funds from outside at present. According to him, an electric tractor plant is also being set up near here by group company Celestial E-Mobility while declining to share additional de- tails as to investment and the production capacity.
TI Clean Mobility has a 70 percent stake in the Hyderabad- based Celestial E-Mobility. The electric tractors are rolled out at the plant near Bengaluru. The 70 percent stake was ac- quired for Rs 161 crore and there will be further investments, Murugappan added. He declined to answer when queried whether Celestial Mobility will be merged with TI Clean Mobility.
