India’s Rain Calcining Ltd said it had agreed to acquire US-based CII Carbon LLC. for $595 million in an all cash deal, making the combined entity the world’s largest maker of calcined petroleum coke.
Calcined petroleum coke is a pure form of carbon used in steel and aluminium industries.
The two companies would have total production of more than 2.4 million tonnes and annual sales of $550 million, Rain Calcining said in a statement on Saturday.
The company said the deal, executed by its US-based unit Rain/CII Holdings, was expected to be sealed later this month.
“This acquisition is a major step in Rain’s long term strategy to become a global calcining company, through both organic and strategic acquisitions,” said Gerard M Sweeney, president at Rain/CII Holdings.
Citi and India’s top private lender ICICI Bank Ltd. were financing the deal, the company said but did not give any further details. In a separate communication to the stock exchange, Rain said it would use proceeds worth $92 million, raised through an issue of preference shares to parent Rain Commodities Ltd, to part fund this acquisition.
Source : Reuters