MOTHERSON HOPES TO TURN AROUND VISIOCORP IN A YEAR

 Motherson Sumi group, the $1.6-billion auto component group, expects to turn around the recently acquired Visiocorp, the worlds largest automotive mirror maker, in a year.

It will invest 80 million in a year for restructuring Visiocorp, which it acquired earlier this month for Rs 175 crore. The Delhi-based component maker stated that it will raise 50 million through debt and the remaining 30 million through capital infusion.
With the acquisition of Visiocorp, which has about 24 per cent of the global market share, Motherson Sumi now holds 300 patents of the European company.

We will raise 50 million to meet the capital expenditure over the next one year. About 20 million would be invested in tooling costs and the remaining towards restructuring of the plants, said Mr Laksh Vaaman Sehgal, Chief Executive Officer of Samvardhana Motherson Finance Ltd, the group company that bought Visiocorp along with the listed entity, Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd.

As a joint venture company, we have always been constrained by not competing in the markets where our partners have a presence. With this acquisition, we own a technology and a product line that gives us a global presence, said Mr Vivek Chaand Sehgal, Group Chairman. Post the acquisition, the company expects to expand its presence in the bigger auto markets such as the US and China.

Visiocorp has two production facilities in China. So we could look at making it a base for global sourcing, said Mr Sehgal. Visiocorp, which has a turnover of 660 million, has 16 plants worldwide and a workforce of 4,000. With the acquisition, Motherson Sumi groups workforce will now be over 20,000.