Mumbai, June 2: Engineering and construction major Punj Lloyd Ltd has acquired an 88 per cent stake in SembCorp Engineers & Constructors, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SembCorp Industries (SCI).

SCI is a leading utilities and marine group.

The size of the deal is expected to be Rs 103 crore and it was carried out by Punj’s wholly owned subsidiary in Singapore, Punj Lloyd Pte Ltd.

Under the terms of the deal, Punj Lloyd Pte Ltd will acquire the remaining 12 per cent stake by December 31, 2007.

The buyout is in line with Punj’s strategy to expand its geographical reach and enhance portfolio in complementary sectors. It is already present in South Asia, West Asia, Asia Pacific, Caspian and Africa.

With this acquisition, its operations will expand to Europe and China, besides Iran and other Southeast Asian countries.

“This will contribute significantly to our topline and provide our group access to new geographies as well as enhance our competitive position in existing markets,” said Atul Punj, CMD, Punj Lloyd Ltd.

The acquisition is expected to enhance the group’s capability to tap complementary growth sectors like infrastructure and petrochemicals, he added.

Punj Lloyd will also leverage on SembCorp’s pool of experienced and qualified engineers.

SembCorp Engineers & Constructors is a design-and-build engineering and construction service provider.

Recently, Punj Lloyd raised Rs 642 crore through an IPO that was oversubscribed 39 times. The shares were listed on the BSE on January 6, 2006.

The company had made several announcements at the time of its listing.

It said Road Infrastructure Development Co of Rajasthan Ltd has granted a letter of intent for construction of roads from Hanumangarh to Ratangarh at a cost of Rs 271 crore, Ratangarh to Kishangarh for Rs 227 crore and Baran to Jhalawar for Rs 95 crore.