Greaves Cotton takes full control of Excel Controlinkage

In Q2 FY27, Greaves Cotton Limited paid Rs 112 crore for the remaining 20% of Excel Controlinkage, making it wholly owned after the engineered-components business grew 30% year on year. Greaves Cotton said the transaction supports its plan to expand from control cables into higher-value assemblies and integrated engineering solutions.

What did Greaves Cotton acquire in Excel Controlinkage?

Greaves Cotton acquired Excel Controlinkage’s remaining 20% interest for Rs 112 crore in Q2 FY27, making the engineered-components company a wholly owned subsidiary. Management disclosed the completed transaction on its October 29, 2026 earnings call for the quarter and half year ended September 30, 2026. The call did not state the size or cost of Greaves Cotton’s pre-existing holding beyond identifying the acquired interest as the remaining 20%.

The purchase was one of two capital-allocation actions disclosed for the quarter. Greaves Cotton also invested Rs 331 crore in Greaves Electric Mobility Limited’s rights issue, while its consolidated revenue rose 44% year on year to Rs 1,176 crore in Q2 FY27. Management said both investments were aligned with GREAVES.NEXT, its strategy to build a more diversified and technology-led group from its engineering and manufacturing base.

Management said future partnerships and acquisitions would be assessed selectively, with strategic relevance, complementary capabilities and the potential for sustainable returns as its stated criteria. The earnings call did not disclose an acquisition pipeline, a further investment amount or a timetable for additional automotive-components transactions. Full ownership instead gives Greaves Cotton direct control over Excel Controlinkage’s operating platform as it pursues the stated strategy.

Why does Greaves Cotton want an automotive-components platform?

Greaves Cotton wants Excel Controlinkage to be its platform for building a larger automotive-components business, using the subsidiary’s customer relationships and engineering capabilities. Management said the intended progression is from individual components, including control cables, to higher-value assemblies and integrated engineering solutions. It did not identify specific assembly categories, customers or product-launch dates for that expansion.

The plan forms part of Greaves Cotton’s broader effort to increase engineering content, differentiation and value addition across its businesses. Within Mobility Solutions, Automotive Engines grew 37% year on year in Q2 FY27, supported by demand in three-wheeler and four-wheeler applications. The business also launched a new 470 cubic centimetre diesel engine for three-wheeler applications during the quarter.

Management’s approach assumes that different powertrain technologies will coexist for the foreseeable future, rather than replacing conventional applications with one technology. This matters because Excel Controlinkage operates within the Mobility Solutions portfolio alongside Automotive Engines, which lifted segment growth to 23% in Q2 FY27 from 18% in Q1 FY27. Greaves Cotton did not provide a revenue split between Engineered Components and Automotive Engines.

How did Excel Controlinkage perform before the acquisition?

Excel Controlinkage grew 30% year on year in Q2 FY27, supported by new product orders and new customer wins, according to management. Greaves Cotton said this followed a return to growth in Q1 FY27 and reflected efforts to strengthen the business. The call did not disclose Excel Controlinkage’s revenue, operating profit, order book or customer concentration.

Its reported 30% growth exceeded the 23% growth rate for the overall Mobility Solutions segment in Q2 FY27. The segment’s growth also accelerated by 5 percentage points from Q1 FY27, when it grew 18% year on year. Automotive Engines grew faster than both, at 37% in Q2 FY27, illustrating that the segment’s growth came from more than the components operation.

The acquisition comes as Greaves Cotton’s Core Business revenue reached Rs 768 crore in Q2 FY27, up 24% from Rs 621 crore a year earlier. Consolidated revenue increased to Rs 1,176 crore from Rs 815 crore over the same period. However, management said commodity inflation and delays in recovering higher costs through business-to-business and original equipment manufacturer pricing arrangements continued to affect profitability.

How will Greaves Cotton develop Excel Controlinkage?

Greaves Cotton plans to develop Excel Controlinkage through organic growth, deeper customer engagement and selective opportunities to broaden capabilities. The stated objective is to move from control cables into assemblies and integrated engineering solutions, but management did not announce a new plant, capital-expenditure programme or milestone for that transition. It described Excel Controlinkage’s established customer relationships and engineering capabilities as the foundation for the plan.

The group is making similar moves toward higher engineering content in other businesses. Energy Solutions’ medium-horsepower generator-set portfolio, covering 160 to 750 kilovolt-amperes, grew 35% in H1 FY27, compared with 28% growth for the overall business. Greaves Cotton also completed its first batch of enhanced generator sets for a key Middle East market during Q2 FY27.

Industrial Solutions reported broadly flat revenue in Q2 FY27, although management said it grew 9% on a like-for-like basis after portfolio rationalisation. During the quarter, the business launched a 750 horsepower fire-fighting engine and unveiled prototypes for a 160 cubic centimetre gasoline engine. These product actions support management’s stated focus on specialised applications where reliability, durability and engineering precision matter.

Greaves Cotton said it will distinguish between costs that can be optimised and investments considered necessary for future competitiveness. Core Business earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margin was 11.5% in Q2 FY27, down from 14.8% a year earlier, as input costs rose. Management said pricing, value engineering, productivity improvements and tighter cost management are intended to improve the conversion of revenue growth into operating earnings.

Conclusion

The Rs 112 crore transaction gives Greaves Cotton complete ownership of an engineered-components business that grew 30% year on year in Q2 FY27. It places Excel Controlinkage inside a Mobility Solutions segment that grew 23%, while providing the group with a stated route from control cables toward assemblies and integrated engineering solutions. The disclosed rationale is capability building and deeper customer engagement rather than a quantified near-term revenue target.

Investors will next watch the execution of Greaves Cotton’s organic-growth and selective-capability plan for Excel Controlinkage, since management did not disclose a revenue, margin or product-expansion target. At group level, management expects the full company-wide benefit of Q2 FY27 price increases to be reflected by Q4 FY27, while it continues cost optimisation and value-engineering measures amid input-cost inflation.