Vedanta: On Friday, Vedanta Ltd, led by billionaire Anil Agarwal, announced the acquisition of an additional 46.57% stake in the Japanese display major, AvanStrate Inc, for $78.3 million. This acquisition was made through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Cairn India Holdings Ltd.
Following this purchase, Vedanta’s total ownership in AvanStrate now stands at 98.2%. The transaction is slated for completion by June 2024.
Vedanta intends to utilize the technology and manufacturing capabilities of the Tokyo-based company to establish its own display fabrication unit in Gujarat. The goal is to cater to both domestic and global demand for electronic devices, thereby nurturing a local high-tech electronics manufacturing industry.
Akarsh Hebbar, the global managing director of AvanStrate Inc, highlighted that as a wholly-owned subsidiary, AvanStrate will be a strategic asset for Vedanta. This move aligns with Vedanta’s vision to play a pivotal role in India’s journey towards achieving self-reliance in electronics manufacturing.
In 2017, Cairn India Holdings acquired a 51.63% stake in AvanStrate.
AvanStrate specializes in producing glass substrates for Gen 4 to Gen 8 TFT LCD (thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display) panels, which find applications in various electronic devices such as televisions, laptops, smartphones, tablets, wearables, as well as displays used in automotive and medical equipment.
With over 700 patents, production facilities in Taiwan and Korea, a robust supply chain network, and partnerships with global technology firms, AvanStrate is well-established in the industry.
Vedanta stated that the acquisition of AvanStrate is in line with its strategic vision of transitioning towards technology and expanding into high-tech manufacturing. Vedanta aims to harness AvanStrate’s technological expertise in display glass to establish local supply chains.
In the current scenario, India heavily depends on imports from China to fulfill its display needs. Leveraging AvanStrate’s expertise, Vedanta is strategically positioned to pioneer India’s inaugural integrated fabrication facility for display glass and panels, addressing comprehensively the burgeoning demand in the electronics manufacturing sector,” stated the company.
Such an establishment has the potential to substantially enhance domestic value addition in electronics manufacturing, elevating it from the existing 15% to a noteworthy 60%,” it further elaborated.
Vedanta’s aspirations in manufacturing
In 2022, Vedanta unveiled its intention to establish India’s inaugural integrated fabrication facility for display glass and panels.
By July 2023, Hebbar revealed that Vedanta had formed partnerships with both technology and equity stakeholders for its semiconductor fabrication venture, and had also collaborated with Taiwan-based Innolux for its display fabrication unit.
During the same period, Chairman Anil Agarwal informed Mint that the Vedanta group was planning to invest $5 billion in the initial phase to set up a semiconductor fabrication unit, a semiconductor packaging and testing unit, as well as a display fabrication unit in the Dholera Special Investment Region located in the Ahmedabad district of Gujarat.
Vedanta revealed its investment plan of $20 billion (₹1.54 trillion) for these projects. The display fabrication unit will require an investment of ₹94,500 crore, while the integrated semiconductor fabrication unit and OSAT facility will necessitate ₹60,000 crore.
Back in February 2022, Vedanta had announced the formation of a joint venture (JV) named Vedanta Foxconn Semiconductor Ltd with Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s largest Taiwanese contract manufacturer, to establish India’s inaugural semiconductor manufacturing unit under the $10 billion government-supported financial incentive scheme.
However, the JV came to an end in July 2023, as both parties opted to pursue separate paths to establish their own chip fabrication facilities.
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