Specialty chemicals group Lanxess is to acquire the chemical businesses and assets of the Indian company Gwalior Chemical Industries for €82.4m (£72m), including debt.
The transaction is subject to formal approval by Gwalior's shareholders and clearance by the relevant antitrust authorities. The deal is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2009.
Founded in 1978, Gwalior’s headquarters is based in Mumbai, and the company employs about 400 permanent staff. In the first nine months of its business year 2008/2009, the company achieved sales of approximately €45.7m.
Gwalior is a producer of benzyl products and sulphur chlorides for the agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors as well as for the flavour and fragrance industries. Its production sites are in Nagda, Madhya Pradesh state, and in Ankleshwar, Gujarat state. In the future, production will be concentrated at its modern Nagda site, which is currently expanding its capacity.
In a related move, Lanxess will also acquire the business and production assets of Chinese-based Jiangsu Polyols Chemical for an undisclosed sum. Closing of that deal is expected in the third quarter of 2009. The medium-sized company, which was founded in 2006, is located in Liyang, west of Shanghai.
For its part, Jiangsu Polyols achieved sales of about €10m in 2008 and currently employs around 170 staff. It mainly produces trimethylolpropane (TMP), which is used in lubricants, paints, and coatings.
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