Wendt to stop collaboration in India unit

Chennai: Germany-based Wendt GmbH, co-promoter of Wendt India, will not extend its technical collaboration agreement with the local company, a maker of grinding wheels and tools.

Wendt India is an equal joint venture between Carborundum Universal Ltd and Wendt GmbH of the Winterthur Technologies AG Group of Switzerland.

The partners have been at loggerheads with each other for more than a year over 3M (Schweiz) AG’s indirect acquisition of Wendt India shares in January 2011 after the Swiss firm bought Winterthur Technologies the previous month.

Bangalore-based Wendt India informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that the technical and collaboration agreement with Wendt GmbH, which is now a part of the 3M group, expired on Thursday and the foreign partner does not intend to extend it.

Wendt India share rose 1.24% to Rs 1,710 in Mumbai trading while the benchmark Sensex index pared 0.79% to 18,349.25 points. The announcement came after market hours.