Advent to buy Eureka Forbes from Shapoorji Pallonji Group for Rs 4,400 cr

The sale provides an opportunity for the Shapoorji Pallonji Group to reduce debt and focus on core real estate operations after its businesses were hammered by the pandemic.

Logos of Advent International, Eureka Forbes and Shapoorji Pallonji Group | Commons

Mumbai: Advent International has agreed to buy Eureka Forbes Ltd. from the Shapoorji Pallonji Group in a deal that values the maker of India’s ubiquitous water purifiers at 44 billion rupees ($600 million).

Eureka Forbes will be spun off from parent Forbes & Co. and will be listed on the BSE Ltd., SP Group and Advent said in a joint statement Sunday. The U.S.-based private equity firm will then acquire as much as 72.56% of the company’s shares, followed by an open offer as it receives regulatory clearances.

The sale provides an opportunity for the SP Group, under patriarch Pallonji Mistry, to reduce debt and focus on core real estate operations after its businesses were hammered by the pandemic. The need for cash is heightened by a feud with the Tata Group — India’s biggest conglomerate in which the SP Group is the largest minority shareholder. Tata Sons Pvt. is blocking attempts to use SP Group’s Tata-linked shares to raise funds.

“Eureka Forbes is the No. 1 player in an under-penetrated market poised for strong growth over the next several years,” Shweta Jalan, managing director at Advent’s India unit, said in the statement.

Eureka Forbes is one of 17 companies under the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, according to its website. Founded in 1865, the SP Group is responsible for some of the most iconic structures in India’s financial hub Mumbai, including the Reserve Bank of India building and the heritage Tower wing of the Taj Mahal Palace hotel. It’s now building what the group says may well be the world’s largest affordable housing project. –Bloomberg