Danfoss eyes acquisitions in India

India is one of the top 10 markets for the 5.09 billion euro worth Danfoss, the official said, adding that the Indian market is growing fast and soon it might turn into one of the biggest market for Danfoss global. “We are looking for acquisitions in the technology space. We don’t rule out acquisitions in India,” Danfoss’ President and CEO Niels B Christiansen has said. 

“The way we look at acquisitions, to strengthen us in the areas where we are not number one or two in the world. Our acquisitions are not just restricted to Europe or the US, we have done acquisitions in Russia also,” he added. In 2016, Danfoss has agreed to acquire two companies, the DKK 1 billion revenue Sondex Holdings, Denmark, and the $100 million revenue US-based White Drive Products. 

“We don’t do hostile acquisitions. However, we do have acquired companies listed in stock exchanges with the consent of the management of the companies.” “Further, there are no competitors like us operating in varied fields to look for acquisition and increase market share,” Christiansen said. The four per cent growth logged during the first six months of the current year does not include the sales numbers of acquired companies. “Being an unlisted company is not a handicap to have a sizeable kitty for acquisitions as we generate good amount of free cash flow from our operations,” Jesper V. Christensen, EVPCFO, said. 

Queried about its Indian operations and where it fits in the Danfoss’ global scheme of things, Christiansen said: “India is now in the top 10 in the Danfoss world. In five years time, it could be the biggest market.” “For us, India is a region by itself, normally a region for us would comprise of several national markets.”

“We are transferring the Vacon production facilities from Bengaluru to Chennai and also ramping up the research and development team,” Christiansen said. Danfoss has acquired Vacon, a Finnish company which had its drives plant in Bengaluru. “We are also working with Indian universities for technology development. Four patents in the drives segment have been filed by Indian company,” President Noel Ryan of Danfoss Commercial Compressors said. 

According to Danfoss India’s President Ravichandran Purushothaman, export shipments from the Indian plant is on the rise while imports are going down. “We are looking at a growth of 15-18 per cent this year (2016) as compared to last year. Last year, we logged a domestic turnover of around $155 million,” Purushothaman has said. The growth is from varied sectors like food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, elevators, steel and others. On the company’s Make in India plans, Purushothaman said while imports of values used in cold chains have been cut with the start of domestic production, the Indian plant has also added more products to be shipped out for the parent company’s global markets. 

“We have developed a condensing unit used in dairies which reduces power consumption by 20 per cent. The product is being exported to different countries,” Purushothaman said. According to him, exports-components and products are growing at around 30 per cent and last year the company shipped out goods worth around Rs 400 crore.