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ICI Paints lines up Rs 1500 crore for buys

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Tamajit Pain Kolkata
ICI Paints has lined up Rs 1,500 crore for acquisitions within the country.
 
"We have enough surplus cash to acquire companies within the country," Rajiv Jain, Managing Director said.
 
ICI has around Rs 500 crore in cash and can raise another Rs 1,000 crore for acquisitions.
 
The company is looking at all the segments it is present in such as decorative, adhesives and speciality chemicals segments. "We are looking at small companies which can be easily integrated with ICI," Jain said.
 
ICI had recently acquired an adhesive plant at Rudrapur near Hyderabad for Rs 15 crore, Jain said.
 
ICI produces 60 million litres of paints every year. It is increasing the capacity to 100 million tonne through debottlenecking.
 
"The debottlenecking would be carried out in phases with small doses of capital spend," he said.
 
ICI Paints has plants at Hyderabad, Mumbai and Mohali.
 
ICI is increasing its advertisement spend to Rs 20 crore from Rs 14 crore last year. The company has also appointed Kareena Kapoor as its brand ambassador for its colour futures project.
 
Noted director Karan Johar has been signed in to direct the commericial.
 
ICI's colour futures project tries to identify fashionable colour during the year.
 
The shooting for the commericial would start shortly, Jain said.
 
ICI is also focussing on tier II and III cities for growth. The company is spreading its network to around 2,000 towns in the country, Jain said.
 
The company has identified paints, starch and adhesives and fragrance as its core businesses.
 
According to Jain, ICI's business touched Rs 750 crore last year. The company is expecting 20 per cent growth in the current year with the paint market growing around 13 per cent.
 
Jain said ICI is looking at more opportunities in the food starch market and is waiting for certain changes in food laws for it to expand its business.
 
Currently, the food starch business accounts for 10 per cent of the total revenues.
 
The company has launched Inspira, the country's first four wall super premium emulsion paint, which costs Rs 986 per litre.
 
The company has also launched a paint product which helps the rooms look brighter with the reflection of the light. ICI expects to bring in more products from its parent company ICI Plc's stable in future.

 
 

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First Published: Jan 22 2007 | 12:00 AM IST

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