Chennai,  Getting into lithium ion battery making, automotive and industrial battery major Amara Raja Batteries Ltd is looking at acquisitions overseas to expand its lead acid battery business, said a top company official.

"In the lead acid battery business, we are looking at geographical expansion. We are looking at Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia. We have studied the markets and are on the lookout for acquisitions," Jayadev Galla, Co-Founder and Chairman said.

He said the worsening power situation augurs well for the battery companies as they sell batteries for uninterrupted power systems (UPS)/inverter, telecom and other sectors.

On the company's lithium ion battery plans, Galla said the company will set up a commercial pilot plant in 12-18 months time as talks are on for technology.

He said the company has a research and development (R&D) plant in Tirupati for making battery cells to validate the product and not the process.