Tata Projects Limited (TPL) has acquired a majority stake of 75 per cent in Artson Engineering Limited (AEL), a public limited company listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, by subscribing to 2,76,90,000 equity shares of Re1 each as per the rehabilitation scheme sanctioned by the honourable board of BIFR on December 18, 2007.

In compliance with the order of BIFR, the face value of the equity share of Rs10 each has been reduced to Re1 each. Consequent to the reduction and the subscription by TPL, AEL's paid-up share capital now aggregates Rs3,69,20,000. As part of the sanctioned scheme, TPL as a strategic investor will infuse funds in the form of secured debt to pay off the secured lenders and other creditors pursuant to the rehabilitation scheme and to provide for the expansion of AEL's business. The board of directors of AEL has been reconstituted.

TPL is one of India's leading engineering, procurement and construction companies, having its operations in the fields of power generation, transmission and distribution lines and substations, third party inspection and expediting services, oil, gas and hydrocarbons, water and waste water treatment plants. It has also recently forayed into metals and minerals plants and railways. TPL is one amongst the few construction companies in India having all three certifications - ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001.

AEL has successfully commissioned on turnkey basis, several fuel storage and handling facility systems and emerged as one of the foremost companies in the country which specialise in such systems. Its expertise has gradually expanded beyond the country and AEL have been executing prestigious overseas contracts also.

AEL has also developed its capabilities in multi disciplinary construction fields for the hydrocarbon process industry and successfully executed many prestigious construction contracts such as FCCU, double walled storage tanks etc in India and abroad. AEL is now one of the leading design, engineering, procurement and construction companies in petroleum storage and handling systems

The expertise of AEL would enhance the EPC business opportunities of TPL, especially in the oil, gas and hydrocarbon sector. This synergy is currently being demonstrated in the project under execution, of a major oil terminal in the UAE.