March 23, 2023: Exide Industries said on March 17 the boards of two of its lithium business subsidiaries had given the go-ahead for the units to merge, subject to regulatory approvals.
The proposal to merge Exide Leclanche Energy Private Limited and Exide Energy Solutions Limited was announced last December.
Exide Leclanche, branded as ‘Nexcharge’, is the business that arose out of the company’s initial joint venture with Swiss battery firm Leclanché — but which later became a 100%-owned Exide subsidiary.
The second wholly-owned subsidiary was formed following an agreement in March 2022 for Exide to collaborate with China’s SVOLT Energy Technology to manufacture lithium ion battery cells in India.
Exide said the merger was appropriate given the similar lines of business of the subsidiaries.
However, Exide CEO and MD Subir Chakraborty said last November that the development and sales of lead batteries continue to be the company’s “core business”, despite its foray into the lithium ion sector.