Kinetic group in another private equity ride

MUMBAI: Barely two months after Kinetic Motor Co, the scooter manufacturing arm of Pune-based Kinetic group, raised Rs 94 crore from a private equity firm, on Friday, Kinetic Engineering, the group’s motorcycle and auto component manufacturing arm, sewed up a Rs 12 crore deal.

This is the second round of fund-raising in the last one year by the Rs 130 crore company.

Kinetic Engineering would issue 7,50,000 warrants at Rs 156 each to Clear Water Capital Partners (Cyprus), which would get converted into equal number of shares within 18 months. Kinetic Engineering shares rose 2.7% to Rs 153.50 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

After the conversion of warrants, Clear Water Capital Partners would have a 13% stake in the company, while the promoters’ stake would fall to 36% from 41% currently.

In October, Reliance Capital Private Equity, a division of the Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Capital, had picked up a 14.9% stake in the company for Rs 13 crore. Kinetic Engineering has a board approval for a 8.1-million-share rights issue in the ratio of two shares for each held at Rs 40 each.

Kinetic Engineering has a marginal presence in the booming motorcycle market. It sells bikes like Boss, Velocity, Comet, and Stryker.

It may be recalled that, in June, in its third round of capital-raising, Kinetic Motor Co had issued non-convertible and fully convertible debentures worth Rs 94 crore to Citicorp Finance India.

In January, the Taiwan-based $1-billion auto giant Sanyang Industry took a 11% stake in Kinetic Motor for Rs 13.6 crore. Later, Bennett Coleman and Co also picked up an equity stake through the preferential allotment.