REUTERS - Fairfax India Holdings Corp, part of Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa's Fairfax Holdings, said it would invest $300 million in privately held Indian petrochemical company Sanmar Chemicals Group through a combination of equity and fixed-income securities.
Fairfax India will have a 30 percent equity ownership in Sanmar following the investment, the company said on Friday.
Reuters had earlier reported that Fairfax India is close to acquiring a minority stake in Sanmar, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Fairfax India will fund an initial tranche of $250 million while a second tranche of $50 million will come from Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd or another investor, the company said.
The investment in Sanmar would be the latest in a string of Fairfax investments in the country this year.
Last month, Fairfax agreed to buy a 33 percent equity interest in the Bangalore International Airport from GVK Power and Infrastructure Ltd for $321 million.
Indian-born Watsa, whose main investment firm is Fairfax Financial Holdings, has previously said he is enthused about India's growth prospects due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic reform agenda.
Chennai-based Sanmar, a family owned firm chaired by N Sankar, is one of India's largest producers of polyvinyl chloride. The firm owns manufacturing facilities in India and Egypt.
(Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
