By Rajendra Jadhav
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Jeweller Rajesh Exports said it will finalise an acquisition on Thursday from a handful of targets that have been identified, after a local daily reported the company could buy a stake in a Swiss gold refinery for about $400 million.
"We are looking for backward integration," chairman Rajesh Mehta told Reuters on Wednesday. "We have identified five-six overseas companies and in tomorrow's board meeting we will shortlist one company."
He declined to name the companies or give any other detail.
The move comes as jewellery demand in India, the world's biggest gold consumer, is on the upswing on the back of economic growth.
The World Gold Council, which represents gold producers, has estimated that India could consume as much as 900 to 1,000 tonnes in 2015, compared to 811.1 tonnes in 2014, although there are some worries about that estimate being met if the country has a bad monsoon season.
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Rajesh Exports, which has a market value of $1.56 billion, said last month it would consider an acquisition in Europe in its board meeting on July 2. It is already in the process of setting up a European unit to expand its global footprint.
The Economic Times reported on Wednesday quoting two unnamed sources that the Bengaluru-based company had sounded out Valcambi about a deal, which could be all in cash. (https://bsmedia.business-standard.combit.ly/1C8hhgY)
Valcambi could not be immediately reached for comment.
Located at Balerna in south-eastern Switzerland and majority-owned by U.S. gold producer Newmont Mining Corp , Valcambi has a capacity to refine about 2,000 tonnes of gold, silver and platinum per year.
In its latest results statement, Rajesh Exports said it is debt-free and, with a capacity to process 250 tonnes of gold per year, is the largest gold jewellery maker in the world.
The company's shares closed 8.6 percent higher at 354.65 rupees on Wednesday. The stock has jumped 150 percent this year.
($1 = 63.5700 rupees)
(Additional reporting by Clara Denina in LONDON; Writing by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)