Water treatment player VA Tech Wabag is eyeing 3-4 overseas acquisitions this year as part of its strategy to increase its presence in new geographies, a top company official said on Friday.

The Chennai-headquartered company, which is also engaged in the engineering, procurement and construction business, currently has presence in 19 countries.

“We are in talks with 3-4 companies (for acquisitions). It will help us in entering into new geographies and also strengthening our presence...,” Va Tech Wabag Managing Director Mr Rajiv Mittal told reporters here.

“We are actively pursuing three or four acquisitions. In one or two months, we will start the due diligence,” he said.

He said some of the companies were from Latin America, Eastern America and North Africa. Last year, it converted its branch offices in Turkey and China into full-fledged ’subsidiaries’, owing to market potential in these markets. In addition, the company had also set up subsidiaries in the Philippines and Sri Lanka in 2010, he said.

The Sri Lanka subsidiary was set up after the company bagged a prestigious order from the National Water Supply and Drainage Board for the Greater Dambulla water supply scheme in Sri Lanka. This project is valued at Rs 360 crore, he said.

In Maynilad, Philippines, the company secured two sewage treatment plant projects valued at Rs 45 crore. “Given the opportunity in these markets, we have set up the subsidiary,” he said.

Related Topics