Apax among global buyouts targeting India's FirePro
Apax Partners is among the global private equity firms considering a $200 million buyout of Bangalore-based fire-protection firm FirePro Systems, India’s Business Standard reported – capital that the company itself hopes will elevate its operations to the next level in the global fire protection space.
Citing investment bankers close to FirePro, the newspaper reported that several private equity players are interested in the asset due to FirePro's strong balance sheet. The company reported INR7 billion ($152.5 million) in revenue in 2010 through its operations in the areas of fire safety, prevention, detection and suppression. It hopes this will grow to INR10 billion with a new owner.
FirePro received a INR1.5 billion investment from Standard Chartered Private Equity in 2009 and raised INR500 million from AIG in 2006.
FirePro, which launched in 2002 and claims to have 1,400 employees who have worked on 1,500 projects, has offices in India, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, the UAE and Germany. It says that 25% of revenues come from overseas businesses.
Earlier this summer, security solutions firms in India gained global attention when Blackstone emerged as potential acquirer of Securitrans India, the cash management arm of security services provider APS group, worth approximately INR1.5 billion. Other key transactions in the space include ICICI's $26.74 million injection in Topsgrup in 2007; DE Shaw's 14% stake buy in Security and Intelligence Services (SIS) in 2008; and SIS's local joint venture with Prosegur, the world's second-largest private security company by market capitalization, in May of this year.
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