L&T completes Divestment of the Electrical & Automation Business to Schneider Electric

“L&T completes Divestment of the Electrical & Automation Business to Schneider Electric”

Highlights:

1.       The divestment deal announced in May 2018 has been completed after receiving the requisite regulatory approvals and fulfilment of necessary conditions

2.       L&T continuously evaluates its business portfolio and takes capital allocation decisions from a long-term perspective

3.       Its exit from the Electrical & Automation Business is a part of the strategic portfolio review process

4.       About 5,000 employees of the E&A business will become part of Schneider Electric’s global family

5.       The manufacturing facilities of E&A in Navi Mumbai, Ahmednagar, Vadodara, Coimbatore and Mysuru in India and related subsidiaries in UAE, Kuwait, Malaysia and Indonesia are also being transferred to Schneider Electric

6.       The subsidiary in Saudi Arabia, L&T Electrical & Automation Saudi Arabia Company Limited (LTEASA), will be transferred to Schneider, once the requisite regulatory approvals are in place

7.       L&T, over the past five years, in line with its strategy to focus on the EPC and Services business, has exited several businesses. The divestment is in line with L&T’s stated goal of unlocking value for future growth and this deal with Schneider Electric will further strengthen the balance sheet

This strategic divestment is in line with L&T’s stated goal of unlocking value
for future growth

 Larsen & Toubro (L&T), India’s leading engineering, technology, construction and financial services conglomerate, today announced the closure of the strategic divestment of its Electrical & Automation (L&T E&A) business to Schneider Electric, a global player in energy management and automation.

The significant and complex divestment deal, one of its kind in India announced in May 2018 has been completed after receiving the requisite regulatory approvals and fulfilment of necessary conditions. The divestment is in line with L&T’s stated goal of unlocking value for future growth. L&T continuously evaluates its business portfolio and takes capital allocation decisions from a long-term perspective. Its exit from the Electrical & Automation Business is a part of the strategic portfolio review process.

Commenting on the closure of this divestment, Mr. A.M. Naik, Group Chairman, Larsen & Toubro said: “The closure of divestment of the E&A business is a key milestone in our stated long-term strategy. The challenge was to carve out a business of this scale, with minimum disruption to the sprawling customer base and do it all amid the constraints of a pandemic. We believe Schneider Electric is the right partner to grow the business, that L&T had nurtured and grown over decades. We truly believe that this deal with Schneider Electric is a win-win for our employees, business partners, and shareholders.”

Mr. S. N. Subrahmanyan, CEO & MD, Larsen & Toubro said: “This all-cash deal will help us create a much stronger balance sheet, thereby creating long-term value opportunities for our stakeholders by focusing on key aspects of business. The deal was a complex M&A transaction involving slump sale of the domestic business and share purchase transfer. This is in sync with our strategy to look at L&T in broadly three areas, EPC Construction & Projects, Manufacturing & Defence and Services.”

L&T’s E&A business with its wide range of low and medium voltage switchgear, electrical systems, industrial and building automation solutions, energy management systems, metering solutions and projects and services business are transferred to Schneider Electric. Schneider Electric will use related brand insignia for a specified period as the brand is very popular and has a strong brand recall in the switchgear market.

About 5,000 employees of the E&A business will become part of Schneider Electric’s global family. The manufacturing facilities of E&A in Navi Mumbai, Ahmednagar, Vadodara, Coimbatore and Mysuru in India and related subsidiaries in UAE, Kuwait, Malaysia and Indonesia are also being transferred to Schneider Electric. In view of the pending local approvals, the subsidiary in Saudi Arabia, L&T Electrical & Automation Saudi Arabia Company Limited (LTEASA), will be transferred to Schneider, once the requisite regulatory approvals are in place.

L&T, over the past five years, in line with its strategy to focus on the EPC and Services business, has exited several businesses. The recent divestment of its stake in ports, insurance, road concessions and other businesses have all unlocked value and this deal with Schneider Electric will further strengthen the balance sheet.

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (SAM) Legal Advisors, Ernst & Young (EY) LLP and Arpwood Capital acted as advisors to L&T on this transaction. 

Microsoft and Schneider Electric to

Microsoft and Schneider Electric to Host Digital Event:

‘Buildings of The Future: Smart to Autonomous’

·         A virtual event aimed at discussing key challenges and best practices from Microsoft and Schneider Electric for making buildings resilient and energy efficient

·         Date – July 7, 2020 | Time: 11:00am – 12:00pm

·         Registration link: https://tinyurl.com/ycvdp393

Schneider Electric, the global leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, and Microsoft India today announced a digital event ‘Buildings of The Future: Smart to Autonomous’ centered around creating secure and resilient buildings during a crisis. Scheduled for July 7, 2020, 11 a.m.-12 p.m. the session will explore key differentiators which building management should embrace to facilitate cost optimisation, energy savings and safety of occupants. Technology intervention can make critical requirements like contactless management, predictive and remote operational efficiency, real in today’s environment. The session will be led by Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India and Anil Chaudhry, Zone President & Managing Director, Schneider Electric, India.

The recent health crisis and economic scenario has led businesses and communities to have an even sharper focus on the health, safety and well-being of people, making contact-less operations crucial. As most companies transition to a hybrid work environment, smart buildings that enable secure, efficient operations will be critical. Technology is playing a big role in enabling that, with  technologies like IoT and AI being used for remote monitoring services that provide  insights into a building’s performance and health, helping organisations, and communities achieve operational efficiency and build resilience.

Schneider Electric and Microsoft have brought IT & OT & AI together to create a seamless and secure AIoT- enabled platform providing customers the tools they need to build resilience in these challenging times. Powered by Microsoft, Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Building Advisor, EcoStruxure Power Advisor and Workplace Advisor are intelligent tools that enable condition-based monitoring and maintain power network operations along with building HVAC systems, while teams are operating with reduced strength or off-site.

Talking about the engagement with Schneider Electric, Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India, said, “In today’s world of remote everything, technology is playing a central role in building economic resilience. Technologies like AI, IOT, big data and machine learning are helping businesses transform, adapt and drive business success by providing real time actionable insights for efficient and secure operations. Our collaboration with Schneider Electric reflects our commitment to help organizations build the digital capability required to pivot toward recovery and accelerate digital success for India.”

Teams can continue making data-driven decisions, using powerful diagnostics to anticipate potential malfunctions in electrical and HVAC equipment. Microsoft’s technology that powers these platform gathers data from sensors to create parallel digital twins to drive insights, is scalable and can integrate

with any digital environment. It helps in digitising power and building management systems, increases remote service capabilities, controls costs, and maintains operations when resources are low.

“Building owners, operators, and facility managers in critical facilities, such as data centers, hospitals, and airports, today face a daunting task of keeping operations running smoothly at maximum capacity, with minimum resources and this can be only achieved through digitisation and the right use of technology. Organisations today need to become more resilient and adapt to disruptive measures to ensure business continuity,” said Anil Chaudhry, Zone President & Managing Director, Schneider Electric-India.

The event will highlight measures to optimise operational efficiency without compromising on comfort and safety, discuss preventive checks on assets with digital tools and predictive maintenance of assets nearing breakdown and share insights around safeguarding premises from cybersecurity threats.

To join the event, please register: https://tinyurl.com/ycvdp393