Toshiba Corporation announced last month acquisition of a majority stake in UEM India Private Limited (UEM), an international water services company headquartered in Noida, India. The acquisition strengthens Toshiba’s water and wastewater management business in India and neighboring countries.
The company purchased the additional 54% stake in UEM from its founder Krishan Kshetry and India Value Fund Advisors (IFVA) to become the majority owner with an 80% shareholding. Kshetry and IFVA will remain as minority shareholders and UEM’s current management team will continue to run the operations.
For more than 40 years, Toshiba has been Japan’s leading manufacturer of electrical system for water supply and sewerage facilities. According to Hirofumi Yoshino, vice president of Toshiba’s Water & Environmental Systems Division, water treatment is a strategic growth area for Toshiba. He said that UEM’s vast experience in delivering complex projects around the world makes the company an ideal partner in the water treatment business. Yoshino believes strategic control in UEM will enable his company to bring in synergies with its other business, and enable UEM to become a “global leader in water and wastewater management business.”
“After Toshiba acquired 26% strategic stake in March 2014, UEM won some additional orders by synergies with Toshiba, for water and wastewater treatment plants from Japanese companies in India and other clients abroad,” Yoshino said. “With this recent enhanced relationship, we will bring in our expertise and global access to enable UEM to become one of the leaders in global water treatment industry.”
UEM specializes in providing complete, single-source services from engineering and design to construction and installation of water, wastewater and domestic waste treatment facilities.
“This is an important milestone in the evolution of UEM. IVFA has been a most supportive partner who has helped us scale the business and took the lead in reorganizing and professionalizing the business,” said Kshetry, who also is managing director of UEM Group. “I am now delighted with this next milestone of Toshiba deepening its partnership as it would provide a bigger canvas for UEM to work on.”
In July 2010, IVFA had acquired a majority stake in UEM, followed by a 26% strategic stake buy by Toshiba in March 2014. Since then, IVF, Toshiba and UEM have been jointly overseeing the business.
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