Aquapharm agreement is close, and Dorf-Ketal hopes to raise $3,800 million

 Aquapharm agreement is close, and Dorf-Ketal hopes to raise $3,800 million

According to two people with knowledge of the situation, Dorf-Ketal Chemicals India Pvt. Ltd. has emerged as the front-runner for manufacturer Aquapharm Chemicals Pvt. Ltd.'s line of specialty chemicals.

One of the two sources mentioned above who spoke on the condition of anonymity claimed that Dorf-Ketal intends to fund $3,800 crore by selling five-year, non-convertible debentures at 8.5-9% interest. According to the two persons, Aquapharm's owners hope to raise between 4,000 and 4,400 crore from the stake sale.

Tata Chemicals Ltd. and PCBL Ltd., both members of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, are competing for the Pune-based business. The owners of Aquapharm recruited a US-based investment bank to look towards a full share sale, Mint first reported on 2 April 2023.

According to the second person, Dorf-Ketal Group has more than $1 billion in annual revenues and has recently completed numerous acquisitions on a global scale. On January 6, it announced that a subsidiary had purchased the 480 crore global modified and synthetic acid business of Canada's Fluid Energy Group. The North American land oil business of Clariant was purchased by Dorf-Ketal in October 2022. It bought India-based Khyati Chemicals in April 2022.

According to a Crisil study dated 8 March, Dorf-Ketal's financial risk profile is supported by strong cash accrual and reasonable capital expenditure plans after FY23. "Although the total amount of debt may rise to 1,350 crore as of March 31, 2023, gearing may decline to one time as a result of the addition of debt to finance the most recent acquisitions. Over the following one to two years, the group intends to concentrate on integrating and expanding the acquired businesses, according to the article.

Tata Chemicals opted not to respond. Email inquiries for comment to Aquapharm Chemicals, Dorf-Ketal, and the RP-Sanjiv Goenka group went unanswered.

About 50% of Aquapharm is owned by the Mangwani family, who are run by V.K. Mangwani. The Desai family, who own the pickle company Mother's Recipe and are run by Sanjay Desai, own the remaining shares.

Manufacturers of detergents, paper, textiles, medicines, personal care products, water treatment chemicals, and leather employ Aquapharm, based in Pune, to produce specialty water treatment chemicals like phosphonates, polymers, biocides, and pharmaceutical intermediaries. It has manufacturing facilities with a capacity in use of 70,000 tonnes in Pirangut and Mahad, both in Maharashtra.