ICICI Venture, Indivision buy 16.46% in Tops Security

MUMBAI: ICICI Venture and Indivision, the private equity arm of Future Capital Holdings, have together picked up 16.46% in security solutions firm Tops Security for Rs 140 crore. Tops group CMD Diwan Rahul Nanda said on Thursday in Mumbai that ICICI Venture picked up 13.6% stake for Rs 115 crore, while Indivsion, which earlier held 4.94% in the company, invested Rs 25 crore to take its total stake to 7.08%. After the stake sale, the stake of Nanda family is expected to come down from 79.18% to 65.98%. Besides Nanda family, investor Rakesh Jhunjunwala owns a 12.7% stake in the company.

In a move to enhance its international presence, the company is close to acquiring a UK-based firm for around Rs 120 crore. The company is also looking to spread its operations Australia, the US and the Middle East in the next five years. The company may enter the market in a year, said Mr Nanda.

In India, the security business sector is worth around Rs 4,000 crore, with an annual growth rate of 21%. For FY07, Tops Security’s revenues stood at Rs 270 crore, while it expects revenues of Rs 918 crore through organic (Rs 457 crore) and inorganic (Rs 451 crore) growth in FY08, according to Mr Nanda.

The company employs 50,000 people across the country with 110 offices and expects to take this number to 75,000 by the end of the year. Tops Security offers security solutions that includes manned guarding, investigations, cash management services, advanced training, security audits, integration of security systems and emergency response services. Its services are spread across all industries and financial services, which includes servicing many foreign banks and a few public sector banks.