ABB Holdings (South Asia) has also sought the government's nod for issuing 4.50 lakh preference shares of Rs 100 each to its parent company ABB Asea Brown Boveri of Switzerland to fund the acquisition of equity stake in CG-Elsag Bailey.

ABB Holdings is acquiring 20.40 lakh equity shares with a face value of Rs 10 per share in CG-Elsag Bailey.

CG-Elsag is currently a 51:49 joint venture between Hartmann and Braun AG of Germany and Thapar group company Crompton Greaves Ltd. The board of directors of CG-Elsag Bailey has given its approval to the takeover by ABB.ABB group has taken over worldwide business operations of CG-Elsag Bailey as a result of which ABB Holdings (South Asia) is acquiring 51 per cent equity stake in the Indian joint venture. ABB Holdings is a wholly owned subsidiary of ABB, Switzerland, and is the vehicleused by the group to channel investments into India. CG-Elsag Bailey, which began operations in the country in 1992, manufactures a variety of process control instruments and systems which are used by process industries like power, steel, cements, refineries, petrochemicals, chemicals and paper etc.

As per the current equity structure, Crompton Greaves holds 40.66 per cent, CG-Capital Investment 8.33 per cent and Hartmann & Braun GmbH 51 per cent stake in the company. A small 0.01 per cent stake is held by resident individuals.

Crompton Greaves' equity holding in CG-Elsag Bailey will remain unchanged at 49 per cent after the takeover by ABB.

CG-Elsag Bailey will be the sixth joint venture of ABB Holdings (South Asia) in the country. The company currently holds equity stake on behalf of its Zurich-based parent company in ABB India, Birla Kent-Taylor, Flakt India, SAE India and ACC Babcock.