Voltas in talks to buy Wipro's water biz, stock gains

Shares of India's third-largest software services exporter, Wipro, surged 2 percent in morning trade on a media report that electro-mechanical projects firm Voltas Ltd is in advanced talks to buy the water purification and treatment business of Wipro Ltd.

The soaps-to-software maker has mandated investment bank Anand Rathi to find a suitor for the water treatment business, which it entered about four years ago, the Times of Indiareport said, citing unanamed sources close tot he development.

[caption id="attachment_88551" align="alignleft" width="380" caption="Voltas, a Tata group firm, may be looking at this acquisition to expand its water treatment business. Reuters"][/caption]

Voltas, a Tata group firm, may be looking at this acquisition to expand its water treatment business, which undertakes works for local civic bodies and for Tata group firms, the report said.The stock price of Voltas too is up 1. 3 percent today.

Wipro's strategy is to exit smaller businesses that are facing increased competition and are not easily scalable, it said.

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A Wipro spokesperson declined to comment citing the company was in silent period ahead of its September-end quarter results. Voltas officials could not be immediately reached by Reuters.

Reuters