RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group's PCBL to acquire Aquapharm Chemicals for ₹3,800 cr

livemint.com:

₹3,800 crore, beating the likes of Dorf-Ketal and Tata Chemicals to win the bid. The acquisition will give PCBL, among the largest manufacturers of carbon black material in India, a crucial foothold in the specialty segments of water treatment chemicals and oil and gas chemicals. PCBL (formerly known as Phillips Carbon Black Limited) expects to finance the deal through a mix of internal accruals and external fundraising, the company told stock exchanges after the share purchase agreement was signed on 28 November.

The acquisition is expected to be completed in two-three months, PCBL said. PCBL will acquire Aquapharm shares from the founders Vimal and Dharmesh Mangwani and Nitin Desai, of Desai Brothers Ltd, the owners of Mother’s Recipe pickles brand. Mint reported the impending sale of Aquapharm first on 2 April, 2023, after the company hired investment bank Stifel to arrange the sale, while noting PCBL was also in the fray.

Mint also reported on 17 October that Dorf-Ketal was raising Rs3,800 crore in nonconvertible debentures to fund the acquisition of Aquapharm. PCBL reported net revenue of ₹5,873.9 crore for FY23, and a profit after tax of ₹444.09 crore. A major portion of PCBL’s revenue comes from the sale of carbon black to tyre manufacturers, CareEdge Ratings said in a 14 September report.

“The demand for specialty black has also been witnessing an increase. The supply disruptions from China and Russia have benefitted the domestic manufacturers," CareEdge said in another report dated 21 September. This acquisition is expected to improve PCBL's revenue diversification mix.