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Tata Sons is going green. The holding company of the Tata group has picked up 7.3 per cent stake in engineering company Praj Industries, for Rs 337 crore ($85 million). It was an open market transaction.
According to Bombay Stock Exchange, Tata Sons bought 13.4 million shares at Rs 251 a share, from the promoters of the company. The seller is Pramod Chaudhari, an IIT engineer and promoter of the company. Pune-based Praj makes distillation equipment for the ethanol industry. Well known venture capitalist Vinod Khosla holds 8.8 per cent stake in Praj, while Rakesh Jhunjhunwala holds 6 per cent. The Chaudhari family, with a 19.14 per cent stake, will continue to be the single-largest shareholder, according to DNA.
According to The Economic Times, Tata's entry into Praj may be an indication that the Tatas plan to enter the distillery and waste water treatment industry. Tata executive Kishore Chaukar is already on the board of Praj as an independent director.
Praj's revenues grew at 129.6 per cent to Rs 630.20 crore and profits by 272.3 per cent to Rs 86.6 crore in 2006-07.