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INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - NOVEMBER 1st – NOVEMBER 15th 2008
UK AND US PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS PICK UP 80% STAKE IN GEMINI EQUIPMENT AND RENTALS (GEAR)
TWO private equity firms—US-based Berggruen Holdings and UK-based Cycladic Capital LLP—have picked up close to 80% stake in construction equipment service provider Gemini Equipment and Rentals (GEAR) for around $15 million (nearly Rs 74 crore).
"This is part of the first round capital-raising programme. The proceeds will be utilised for expansion," said GEAR managing director Rajiv Sethi. The construction equipment industry is growing at the rate of 35% and is likely to expand fivefold by 2015. The critical role of the industry in the infrastructure development has opened huge opportunity for entrepreneurs to enter the construction equipment rental business.
Currently, GEAR has an asset fleet of 200. The company has presence in Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Lucknow, New Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Secunderabad. It aims to have 500 equipment assets by the end of this fiscal and additional 250 in the year 2009-10.
"In the coming years, we want to become India's leading provider of the most comprehensive and diverse range of construction and allied equipment needed by the infrastructure and construction sectors." Mr Sethi said.
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