Crompton carve-out: Avantha split off its consumer arm in 2016; it listed and compounded

By 2015 the Avantha group of Gautam Thapar was under strain, and its B2B power and industrial units weighed on a valuable but unrelated consumer franchise: Crompton's fans, pumps, lights and household appliances. In April 2015 Avantha agreed to sell its entire 34.37% holding in the demerged consumer company to Advent International and Temasek for Rs 2,000 crore, an amount the two investors had already paid in advance to the parent.

The demerger took effect on 15 March 2016: shareholders received one Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals share for each Crompton Greaves share, and the old stock repriced about 70% lower to reflect the remaining power and industrial business. Days earlier the group had agreed to sell its overseas power transmission operations to First Reserve at an enterprise value of 115 million euros. The consumer arm listed on the BSE and NSE on 13 May 2016, and the new investors followed with an open offer for an additional 26% at Rs 104 a share.

Freed from the parent's troubles, the company kept investing and expanding. A decade on it has moved well beyond its core categories through sustained investment in technology and product innovation, and in the June 2026 quarter it reported revenue of Rs 2,235 crore, up 11.8%, with net profit up 15.2% to Rs 143 crore, growing double digits in every segment.

Listed 13 May 2016; a decade on it books Rs 2,235 crore quarterly revenue (+11.8%) and Rs 143 crore profit (+15.2%), double-digit growth in every segment.

The demerger separated a steady consumer franchise from a stressed B2B and power group, letting each business be judged on its own economics.

Selling control to Advent and Temasek brought patient capital and governance exactly when the parent could no longer provide either.

A 1:1 share swap protected minority shareholders, who received stock in both companies rather than cash.

The split ran as a planned court-approved scheme rather than a distressed asset auction, so the operating company stayed intact.

When a parent is drowning in debt, carve out the healthy business early and give it new owners and professional management. Value rescued before the crisis peaks compounds for decades.

The old Crompton Greaves sold its European, North American and Indonesian power transmission businesses to First Reserve at an enterprise value of 115 million euros, while Avantha's 34.37% stake in the consumer company passed to the two investors around the May 2016 listing. Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals then spent a decade expanding into new categories and premiumising its range; in the June 2026 quarter it posted Rs 2,235 crore of revenue and Rs 143 crore of profit, and in August 2026 it unveiled a new master brand identity as one of India's leading consumer electrical companies.