Apollo to invest almost $300 million in The Welspun Group

Home Textiles Today Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 7/27/2011 4:08:23 PM

Mumbai, India - Private equity firm Apollo Global Management has agreed to make a considerable investment - close to $300 million -- in Indian conglomerate Welspun Group, which includes the home textiles house Welspun USA.

The transaction is expected to close on or before Aug. 12, 2011.

The investment will be made into three divisions of Welspun Group, whose parent is Welspun Corp Limited (WCL) -- Welspun Corp Limited (WCL), Welspun Maxsteel Limited (WMSL), and Welspun Infratech Limited (WITL). The boards of directors of the three collectively said they have "carefully considered and agreed to accept" Apollo's investment proposals, which were made at meetings held on June 29th. Additionally, they "universally viewed this transaction as a positive, landmark event in the trajectory of the Welspun Group."

Commenting on this investment, B. K. Goenka, chairman of Welspun, said, "We are extremely delighted to have Apollo as one of our largest stakeholders. Apollo is one of the largest private equity fund managers in the world. Apollo's investment in Welspun is a landmark transaction for the Indian capital markets and demonstrates trust and confidence in

Welspun's management team, the firm's global reach in servicing some of the largest oil and gas companies in the world, and our collective vision for the future of the industry. We believe that this partnership will pave the way for Welspun to continue on its path of becoming one of the leading line-pipe companies in the world."

Added Joshua Harris, managing partner and co-founder of Apollo Global Management: "Since 1990, Apollo has developed substantial expertise and valuable relationships across a handful of core industries through our private equity investment activities. Welspun represents a leading global franchise that operates at the intersection of energy and metals -- two of our core verticals -- and we are very enthusiastic regarding the prospects of the company."