Walchandnagar shares hit 5% upper circuit after acquiring majority stake in AiCitta Intelligent Tech

As a part of the pact, Walchandnagar Industries Ltd (WIL) will acquire an approximate 60.3% diluted stake in AiCitta. The acquired shares will include a combination of equity shares and compulsory convertible preference shares for a consideration of up to ₹16 crore.

The first tranche of the investment will be completed within 45 to 60 days of signing the deal. The remainder of the investment will be completed within 31 months of completing the first tranche.

Once this deal goes through, Aicitta will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Walchandnagar.

The transaction is in line with WIL’s strategy to diversify its defence business, as AiCitta operators in similar fields of defence, the company said in an exchange filing.

“This foray into next-generation defence technologies, which have proven effective in recent global wars, will provide the next leg of growth opportunities for WIL,” it added.

Shares of Walchandnagar had touched its 52-week low of ₹142.79 during the last trading session. Its total market capitalisation stood at ₹893.33 crore.

Aicitta Intelligence Technology is a start-up engaged in research and development and the manufacturing of defence vehicles like Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs).

“This deal marks an important inflection point in our journey in serving India’s defence needs through our enhanced capabilities. This acquisition opens up new avenues for growth through next-gen defence technology development and a platform to create our own intellectual property (IP). The AiCitta deal signals our openness to adopting an inorganic growth approach in high-growth industries,” Chirag Doshi, the MD and CEO of WIL said.

Aicitta Technologies has received a Project Sanction Order (PSO) with an opportunity size of close to ₹1400 crores, with two working prototypes of the product on track to be complete for the trials in the coming 46 weeks, Doshi added.