Polycab to Acquire Automation Company Silvan Innovation

Silvan clocked over Rs 90 mn in sales in FY19 and has a sizeable order pipeline of over a billion

Polycab India Limited (PIL) has signed an agreement to acquire 100 per cent stake in Silvan Innovation Labs Private Limited (Silvan). Silvan is a technology company focused on providing automation offerings for homes, offices, banks, retail outlets, hotels and other spaces.

“Our ambition is to become a forefront consumer centric company. The domain strength of Silvan coupled with our robust Go-To-Market capabilities presents a great synergic combination. It is a fantastic addition to our IOT portfolio and aligns with our strategy to address evolving consumer needs with new age innovative solutions. I believe Silvan will also play a vital part in achieving our FMEG aspirations under Project Leap,” noted Inder T. Jaisinghani, Chairman & Managing Director of Polycab.

Silvan has installed over 100,000 devices in more than 8,000 homes and offices. It was founded in 2008 by four electronics and embedded systems domain veterans possessing a cumulative experience of 120 years in companies like Texas Instruments and Lucent Technologies.

Acquisition of Silvan adds new dimensions to our R&D and innovation capabilities noted the company. “Its wireless retrofit system technology enables rapid upgradation of conventional FMEG into smart products. Furthermore, PIL’s vast distribution presence and strong manufacturing capabilities will be leveraged to scale up Silvan’s highly functional IoT based solutions,” read Polycab’s official statement.

Silvan clocked over Rs 90 mn in sales in FY19 and has a sizeable order pipeline of over Rs 1 billion. The cost of acquisition is around Rs 102 mn for shares and around Rs 80 mn as additional funds infusion to discharge certain outstanding liabilities. Silvan will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of PIL. The transaction is subject to fulfilment of certain conditions by both parties.

The founders namely Dr Giridhar Krishna, Mohan Gopalakrishna and Ajay Gupta will be continuing with PIL post acquisition. The company has 17 patents, including filed and provisional, and is based out of Bangalore.