SAR Group buys 51 % stake in Venture with Meridian Mobiles
Rakesh Malhotra promoted SAR Group, has acquired a majority stake of 51% in a joint venture with the Indian subsidiary of Median Group, Meridian Mobiles that sells Fly handsets in the country. Fly Mobile has been an early entrant to the Indian market, is known to be challenger brand.
Prem Kumar will continue as Managing Director and Navneet Kapoor, Co-Founder SAR Group would be the Chairman of Fly Mobiles (P) Ltd. This acquisition would open entry into the SAARC region including India. SAR Group is committed to making long term investments in this association.
Malhotra said, "SAR Group has a sizeable commitment to this business vertical through its existing portfolio in Wynn Telecom; Wynncom has reached a run rate to take it to Rs. 250 crore in 2012. With the acquisition of majority stake in Fly mobiles, SAR Group will add approximately a similar size to its telecom portfolio to emerge as one of the top 5 companies in the Indian handset market. This would be the starting base for SAR group to consolidate and build in this industry. We are excited about our investment in Fly; Fly has long standing investments in R&D in China and Korea; by synergizing our product development and R& D capabilities we shall have a definitive competitive advantage in the market."
Prem Kumar, CEO, FLY Mobiles Pvt. Ltd. said, "We are very excited about this joint venture; joining forces with SAR will enable our common vision of providing the state of art products to the consumers. We will combine our strengths to deliver an ecosystem with incomparable reach and scale. Today's announcement shows our commitment to delivering world class products in Indian and SAARC region. This JV is a part of our strategy of broadening and deepening our presence in the competitive market. The future of Mobile handset industry will continue to be driven by innovation, but it will also be about ensuring that the consumers have a magnificent experience with the device and unparallel service support. Our respective strengths are a natural fit and will help us address the fast evolving needs of today's consumers."
Malhotra said, "The handset industry in India requires immense investment in product innovation, software, VAS, supply chain development and quality control. It is imperative that the fragmented nature of this industry in India, changes through consolidation in synergies in supply chain, R&D and distribution build-up."
Both the companies are expected to significantly benefit through this new joint venture.
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