L&T acquires 50 % stake in Valdel''s upstream engineering business

Mumbai: Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) has entered into an agreement to acquire a 50 per cent stake in the carved out upstream engineering business related to oil and gas production and exploration of the Bangalore-based Valdel Engineers & Constructors Private Limited.

The upstream engineering business will be named as "L&T Valdel Engineering Pvt. Ltd.". The new JV will explore and expand prospects in the detailed engineering for the upstream oil & gas segment and look for new opportunities.

K.Venkataramanan, member of the board and president (Operations), L&T said, "We are keen to grow in the engineering space and offer design & engineering services for the oil & gas industry. This acquisition would help us in that direction. In addition to building capacities for our upstream oil & gas business, L&T encourages its JVs to be independent and pursue direct customer work actively. We have worked together with Valdel from their inception as "John Brown Technologies (India) Pvt. Ltd.", established in 1991 and are pleased with this arrangement."

The company has grown from providing specialised design and engineering services for the hydrocarbon and chemicals industries to providing comprehensive integrated services across diverse industries through a multi-disciplinary approach.

M.J.Shantharam, managing director, Valdel Corporation, the holding company of Valdel Engineers & Constructors Pvt. Ltd. said, "L&T has been one of our key customers and this transition into a partnership gives us complete synergy to strengthen our position in the upstream engineering services sector, in domestic and international markets. We are pleased with the equity participation and believe this will bring scale to the current level of operation thereby leading to cost efficiency."