The stock, which was hardly traded earlier, is now started trading and is currently hovering around Rs 16.35 on the Delhi Stock Exchange. Nord Asia is expected to pick up the equity stake in the company at a substantial premium to the current market price. The price could be in the range of Rs 30-40, according to the market source.

Brushman has recently bagged firm orders worth Rs 15 crore (Rs 12 crore for paint brushes and Rs 3 crore for wire brushes) and is now planning to double its manufacturing capacity. Brushman, which manufactures the largest variety (the number runs into 108) of paint brushes in India, is raising fresh equity to part finance the expansion of its manufacturing capacity from 10 lakh pieces per annum to 20 lakh pieces. The project cost, the plant will be set up either at NOIDA or Delhi, is estimated at around Rs 4 crore. Almost 50 per cent of the project cost will be met from the equity placement and the balance will be from term loans.

The company has a market share of 25 per cent (organised sector) in south India and 10 per cent in India as a whole. The company has 3000 dealers all over India, who also hold 10 per cent equity stake in Brushman.

For fiscal 2000, Brushman reported a net profit of Rs 12 lakh against a loss of Rs 3 lakh for fiscal 1999. Turnover rose to Rs 4.15 crore from Rs 3.23 crore. Thanks to the Rs 15-crore firm orders, the company is targetting to almost double its turnover to Rs 8 crore and net profit is expected to be around Rs 80 lakh for the current financial year.