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The RP-Sanjiv Goenka (RPSG) Group’s PCBL (formerly Phillips Carbon Black) has approved the acquisition of Pune-based specialty chemicals company, Aquapharm Chemicals (ACPL), for Rs 3,800 crore.
In a filing with the stock exchanges, PCBL stated that the board of directors, at its meeting held on November 28, 2023, in principle approved the acquisition.
The company intends to acquire, either directly or through one of its affiliates, 212,172 shares of ACPL, for an aggregate consideration of Rs 3,800 crores (subject to agreed adjustments), representing 100 per cent of the issued and paid-up share capital (on a fully diluted basis) of ACPL.
The proposed transaction will be financed through a mix of internal accruals and external fundraising by the company and/or its affiliates/associates.
This deal, one of the largest from RPSG Group, marks PCBL’s foray into global specialty segments of water treatment chemicals and oil and gas chemicals. It signifies the first milestone in achieving the vision of creating a multi-platform global specialty chemical business portfolio, PCBL said in its filing.
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Commenting, Sanjiv Goenka Chairman PCBL said “Aquapharm is a leading specialty chemicals company and is India's largest phosphonate producer. The acquisition is value accretive and margin accretive and is in the space of fast growing high margin chemicals . It's a platform which offers a lot of growth and high margins . It's a unique opportunity and we are delighted to take this opportunity."
On Tuesday, PCBL executed a share purchase agreement (SPA) with ACPL, Vimal V Mangwani, Dharmesh Mangwani, Nitin Raojibhai Desai, and other shareholders of ACPL, for undertaking the proposed transaction, the regulatory filing mentioned.
The transaction is subject to obtaining all necessary approvals and fulfilling other customary conditions, as specified in the terms and conditions of the SPA.
The acquisition is expected to be completed within two to three months from the SPA execution, subject to the completion of conditions precedent (including shareholders, lenders, Competition Commission of India, and other necessary third-party approvals) by the parties and in accordance with the other provisions of the SPA.
ACPL has manufacturing facilities in India, the US, and Saudi Arabia. The overseas plants are operated through subsidiaries.
In 2022-23 (FY23), ACPL recorded a total income of Rs 2,045 crore and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation of Rs 417 crore.
PCBL, a leading player in the domestic carbon black industry, reported consolidated revenues of Rs 5,774.06 crore in FY23 and a profit of Rs 442.19 crore.
The company has plants in Durgapur (West Bengal), Palej and Mundra (Gujarat), Kochi (Kerala), and Chennai (Tamil Nadu), with a total installed capacity of about 7,70,000 tonnes per annum.
