Mt Everest story is now over. Have a look at a micro cap company which is also related to water. EPC Industrie Ltd BSE Code 523754 in which Schroder Credit Renaissance Fund Ltd has invested an amount of Rs. 40 crores; Rs. 22 crores in the form of Equity at Rs. 49/- per share on 22.1.2007 (when the ruling market price was Rs. 26/- per share) and balance Rs. 18 crores in the form of debt. Schroder invests globally on a value basis in deeply discounted corporate debt obligations – both distressed and performing – in order to profit from market inefficiencies and different credit cycles. EPC is into manufacture of irrigation products, viz., drip irrigation systems, sprinkler irrigation systems, etc. Its product line is similar to that of Jain Irrigation. Remember, Jain Irrigation was also quoted at very low levels around five years back.

There was an article on this which was published in Business India dated July 1, 2007 on Page 16. The article is - With fresh overseas funding flowing into the BSE listed EPC Industries Limited (EPCIL), the company has got a new lease of life and is out of the BIFR. The US-based Schroder Credit Renaissance fund has decided to chip in close to Rs. 40 crore. It will be investing Rs. 22 crore by way of equity and Rs. 18 crore by way of debt in the form of optionally convertible debentures. The equity is being brought in at a price of Rs. 49/- per share (current market price: Rs. 35). With this, the Indian Promoter, K.L. Khanna’s holding will be reduced to 29 per cent while the overseas investor’s hold will go to 47 per cent. However, the overseas investor is strictly financial and will eventually exit via market route and not have any control over the management of the company. According to a source, the present market scenario is such that there are some mega projects of APMIP (Andhra Pradesh Micro Irrigation Project) of Rs. 2,500/- crore and GGRCL (Gujarat Green Revolution Company Limited) Rs. 3,250 crore in Gujarat. Other states are also coming up with such mega projects. And EPCIL is one of the selected contractors for these projects.

Edited by tyler_durden - 05/Jul/2007 at 12:00pm