RPG Transmission and NITEL to merge with KEC International

Mumbai, Aug 6 (UNI) KEC International Ltd, part of the Rs 11,500 crore RPG Group today said its Board as well as the Board of RPG Transmission Ltd (RPGT) and National Information Technologies Ltd (NITEL) has approved the amalgamation of the latter two companies into KEC International Ltd, pending legal and statutory approvals.

KEC MD Ramesh Chandak told mediapersons, ''This merger makes immense economic, business and operational sense. It will position the combined entity to greatly enhance shareholder value. Merger of RPGT and NITEL with KEC appointed date for the scheme to be October 1, 2007 and new company and new shares of KEC to be listed on Stock exchanges. Marrying the reach and capacity of KEC -- which gets over 70 per cent of its revenue from overseas markets -- with the domestic maket and manufacturing strength of RPGT will enable superior infrastructure solutions.

''The investement divisions of KEC, comprising investments in the shares of RPGT will be demerged into a seperate company. Leveraging this combination of manufacturing scale to decisively capture market share in the booming telecom infrastructure space with NITEL's outstanding telecom technical and project credentials, will ensure a very bright future us.And we will hit the road running because the issue of cultural integration with most mergers is irrelevant. We all belong to the same group. When this three-way merger is complete, the combined entity will become a diversified infrastructure engineering procurement and contruction (EPC) global major.'' added Mr Chandak UNI