Andrew Yule to be shorn of subsidiaries

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Kolkata, Aug14: Government-owned Andrew Yule & Co Ltd, having just steered itself out of seven years of losses with a profit during 2007-08, is set to begin a new life sans its subsidiaries before the year ends.

Under a plan cleared by the Board for Industrial & Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), the Centre, which holds a stake of over 98%, has extended a loan of Rs 87 crore to power the Rs 200 crore revival package for the 145-year-old company.

“We have got our funding, and now we have to pay back that money,” said Kallol Datta, chairman and managing director. “We will pay it back by divesting DPSCL, Phoenix Yule, Tide Water Oil and subsequently our engineering and electrical divisions,” he said.

Tea accounts for 40% of Andrew Yule’s turnover, electricals 50% and engineering around 10%. The electricals and engineering to tea major has already begun the process of selling its stake of 15% in DPSCL Ltd, the erstwhile Dishergarh Power, in which the insurance companies that hold 42% will also disinvest.

“Almost every big name in power, from Reliance to Tata Power and CESC, has downloaded the preliminary information memorandum for DPSC that is the starting point for the process,” Datta said. Although DPSCL has a generating capacity of only 40mw, it has become a trading company supplying nearly 122mw to its licenced area of 618 sqkm in what used to be known as the Ruhr of Bengal, now looking up again with the imminent entry of Sajjan Jindal’s mega steel plant.