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Raja Simhan T.E.

Picnic Marine would continue to run the ships and Teledata would support in all its activities, including managing ships.

Bangkok , Dec. 9

TELEDATA Informatics Ltd, the Chennai-based software company, has acquired 70 per cent stake in the Thailand-based Picnic Marine Company Ltd for Rs 190 crore, according to Mr K. Padmanabhan, Managing Director, Teledata.

The remaining 30 per cent will remain with the Picnic group.

The funding would be through internal accruals and GDR (global depository receipt) proceeds, he said.

A wholly owned subsidiary of the $3-billion Picnic Corporation Public Company Ltd, Picnic Marine has 13 gas carriers with the average gross tonnage of the vessels being 1,414 tonnes.

The earning potential of each gas carrier is $2,500-$2,800 a day, Mr Padmanabhan told Business Line after signing an agreement with the Picnic Group.

Picnic Marine employs about 200 people (mostly marine officers) and its yearly revenue is around $9 million. Following this acquisition, the company's name would be changed to Teledata, mid next year.

Picnic Marine would continue to run the ships and Teledata would support in all its activities, including managing ships. Teledata has been managing five gas carriers of Reliance in India, he said.

According to Mr Padmanabhan, the acquisition would help Teledata penetrate markets such as Thailand, China, Korea, Vietnam and Bangladesh where Picnic Marine has a major presence. The Thai company moves about 50,000 tonnes of LPG (captive cargo) every month for distribution in Thailand, he said.

Picnic Marine's parent is also planning to take over a gas terminal in China, and this would enhance Teledata's presence in that country. They are also buying another two gas carriers, he said.

In the last two years, Teledata's growth has come through acquisitions, and today's announcement is fourth for Teledata in 2005.

It acquired Daan Consulting and Vanguard Technologies in the US and Nestol Technologies in Thailand. Last year, it acquired Bitech International Dubai and Bitech International Singapore, Transworld Information Sytems US and Insoft Systems, Singapore.

Teledata provides ERP (Enterprise resource planning) solutions to the education, marine and utilities verticals. Its offerings comprise webEIM, a solution to handle all educational data needs, including finance and accounting, payroll and benefits, attendance and parent and teacher access.Ship Manager, the company's flagship pro duct, is being used by over 1,000 ships globally to streamline vessel operations and management, said Mr Padmanahban.

A few more acquisitions are in the pipeline, said Mr Padmanabhan. The acquisitions done last year and this year would enable Teledata to report a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore this fiscal, he said. The software division would contribute Rs 500 crore and the rest from subsidiaries, he said.

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