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Eveready Appoints Two Senior Finance Officials, Denies Restructuring

The Williamson Magor Group had mandated Kotak Mahindra Bank to find a strategic partner for Eveready Industries.

Eveready battery arranged for a photograph in Mumbai. (Photographer: Vishal Patel/BloombergQuint) 
Eveready battery arranged for a photograph in Mumbai. (Photographer: Vishal Patel/BloombergQuint) 

Eveready Industries India Ltd. appointed two joint chief financial officers, amid talks that its parent, the Williamson Magor Group, is scouting for a strategic partner for the dry cell battery major.

Eveready Industries has denied the appointments to be an indication of a possible restructuring in the company, maintaining that the move was a part of the career succession plan of employees.

Eveready Industries has named Indranil Roy Chowdhury, senior vice-president (finance), and Bibhu Ranjan Saha, senior vice president-accounts & banking, as joint chief financial officer with immediate effect.

Suvamoy Saha, who was the chief financial officer for a long stint, will now continue as a whole-time director. The company had earlier said it was seeking an enterprise valuation of Rs 3,000-4,000 crore through stake sale or inducting a strategic partner.

The BM Khaitan-led Williamson Magor Group had mandated Kotak Mahindra Bank to find a strategic partner for Eveready Industries. The group, however, has said it has "no plans" to completely exit from the company, which clocked net sales of about Rs 1,450 crore last fiscal, and is likely to post a total revenue of Rs 1,600 crore in 2019-20.

The company called a board meeting on May 27 to announce earnings and dividend. Shares of the company has taken a beating over the last few sessions, from a high of Rs 450 in January 2018 to close at Rs 74.80 on the BSE on May 17.

Informed people in the know had earlier said that Eveready was in dialogue with global battery major Energizer, Duracell and a few other private equity firms.

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