Kolkata: Japanese industrial gas maker Air Water Inc has acquired a 51 per cent stake in Kolkata-based Ellenbarrie Industrial Gases Ltd for around Rs 100 crore, or 1.8 billion yen.
The listed Indian company has a capacity of 235 tonnes per day (tpd) at its three plants for liquefied oxygen, nitrogen and argon gases. It also has a packaging, refilling and acetylene plant, a fleet of 80 tankers and a steel trading business.
Masato Machida, Corporate Director of Air Water and a Director of Eellenbarrie, said after the acquisition, the management of the Indian company would remain unchanged. Air Water will have three directors on the board, while original promoters, the Agarwala family that will hold a 23.9 per cent stake, will also have three board berths.
India plans
The Indian industrial gas space is dominated by multinationals such as Linde, Praxair, Air Product and Air Liquid. Machida told Business Line that apart from growth in industrial gas capacities in merchant plants, Ellenbarrie would look for opportunity in oxygen-related medical equipment, including piping and operation theatre gadgets.
He added the company’s steel trading would continue to get support from the new promoter. The future growth mode for the Rs 80-crore Ellenbarrie would also include captive plant for automobile clusters in Chennai and Gurgaon.
Ellenbarrie is setting up a 150-tpd air separation unit in Hyderabad at a cost of Rs 60 crore. The plant would be ready by April 2014. At present, the company operates one unit (135 tpd) in Vizag and another at Uluberia (100 tpd) near here.
Padam Agarwala, who would continue as the Managing Director in the new dispensation, said the company would firm up its growth plans in the next few quarters.
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