Wipro buys Sweden’s Hydrauto for $31m

BANGALORE: Wipro Infrastructure Engineering (WIN) — formerly Wipro Fluid Power — part of Wipro, announced on Thursday that the company is acquiring Sweden-based Hydrauto Group AB for $31m (Rs 142.6 crore) in an all-cash deal. The company, in a communication to the BSE and the NSE, said the acquisition is expected to be completed by Q3 of FY ’06-07, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

“This acquisition gives WIN a unique Asia-Europe footprint, a customer base built over the past few decades and deep complementary engineering skills. Being together will have a multiplier effect on competitiveness,” WIN MD Anurag Behar said.

Hydrauto, based in Sweden, is a provider of hydraulic components and solutions in Europe. It is a tier-I supplier to OEMs of material handling equipment, forestry equipment, construction and earth moving machinery amongst others.
For the year ended December 31, ’05, the company posted revenues of $112m. It is a profitable entity with positive operating cash flows.

The acquisition will give Wipro’s infrastructure engineering arm an entry into Europe.

For the year ended March 31, ’06, its revenues were about $57m. Hydraulic components are a global $17bn industry catering to the construction equipment, material handling, farm and industrial segments. The growth in this segment in India is being driven by huge investments in the infrastructure and industrial segments.