Kolkata-based Ruia Group is seeking to become a leading player in the auto component space. In an interview to FE?s Ronojoy Banerjee chairman of the Ruia Group Pawan K Ruia talks about the group?s overall plans and how it is looking to become a leading component player. Excerpts:
Your bid for SsangYong surprised many analysts. Why did you bid so aggressively for the South Korean player?
We have ambitions of becoming an OEM. SsangYong would have been a strategic buy for us and given us a strong footprint in the OEM space. It has strong markets in South Korea and Europe.
Are you still looking for a strategic acquisition to enter the OEM space?
Within the Ruia Group we have an M&A team that is dedicated to identifying growth potentials. There aren?t enough companies that have the same value as Ssangyong, but yes, if we get the opportunity we will certainly explore it.
What are your plans in the auto component space for the future?
We want to become a leading auto component company. The acquisitions that we have made (two mid-sized European auto component companies) have clients across the world. I feel that there is tremendous opportunity for the component space. In fact, we are still eying a Korean company for an acquisition.
