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ShareHyderabad: Semiconductor industry veteran and founder, chairman and president of the SemIndia Group, Vinod K Agarwal, who had attempted to set up the country's first semiconductor chip-making unit, is set to exit the company after investors took control of its management and operations.
"Investors have taken control of the company," Bob Kondamoori, managing director, SemIndia, and an investor in the company, conceded to DNA, but wanted time to elaborate on the developments.
Asked for a confirmation, Agarwal, too, said on Sunday he did not want to comment and would talk when he is ready. It is understood that he is entering the clean energy business, but Agarwal would not confirm.
A former academician, Agarwal had founded LogicVision, an electronic design automation (EDA) company, offering chip, board and system-level solutions, leading it to an IPO just before 9/11. It was subsequently acquired by MentorGraphics.
This is the third big exit from SemIndia after chief operating officer Ajay Marathe quit in early 2008 and managing director B V Naidu late last year, putting to doubt the timely execution of the $3 billion proposal for a semiconductor chip fab and a $100 million assembly, test, marking and packaging (ATMP) unit at the FabCity in Hyderabad.
While Marathe had quit to join Reliance Semiconductors, Naidu joined Matrix Enport Holding Pvt Ltd, promoted by former Matrix Labs chief N Prasad.
After the exit of B V Naidu, Kondamoori had taken over as the MD of SemIndia Systems, while Neeraj Saxena, who had been with the group since May 2007 took over as the MD of SemIndia Fab.
While the proposed fab has been put on the backburner, work on the ATMP is progressing fast. "The ATMP is close to commissioning and will roll out chips soon," said Kondamoori, who is also the managing director of $120 million early stage venture capital firm Sandalwood Partners that has invested in SemIndia.
The company holds about 100 acres in the FabCity including land for a 25 acre ATMP. "We are looking at taking back the unutilised part of the land and allotting it to somebody else," B P Acharya, chairman, Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation, told DNA Money.
