Eliokem to buy 15 ktpa nitrile rubber unit from Apar

Villejust, France - Eliokem SAS has agreed to buy the nitrile rubber business of India's Apar Industries Ltd. for Rs 1110 million (€19.6 million). The division operates a plant in Valia in the state of Gujarat, a facility that has an annual production capacity of 15 kt, according to figures published by the IISRP. The transaction is expected to close by 31st December 2007, after obtaining necessary regulatory and shareholder approvals.

The purchase of Apar's Polymer Division will give France's Eliokem the sole manufacturer of nitrile rubber in India, a business that had sales of about $34 million for the fiscal year ending in March, Eliokem said. According to IISRP data, Eliokem currently runs a 26 ktpa plant in Sandouville, France, making similar products.

The Polymer division of Apar was established in 1986, initially to manufacture HSR (high styrene rubber) in Mumbai. This plant was later closed. In 1989, the polymer division was incorporated as Gujarat Apar Polymers Ltd (GAPL), which was listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). In 1992, GAPL expanded into manufacturing NBR (acrylonitrile butadiene rubber) at its Valia (Gujarat) plant in technical collaboration with The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, USA. In 1997, GAPL was merged with specialty oils and conductors division of Apar to form Apar Industries Ltd. In 2006, Apar restructured its polymer division by consolidating the entire operations of the division at Valia and shutting down its Mumbai plant.

The new efficient manufacturing platform in India will strengthen Eliokem's growth plan both domestically as well as in the rest of the world," stated Jacques Collonge, President & CEO of Eliokem. Apar Industries will now concentrate on its core business and area of expertise which will enable the Group to grow faster, as the sale of the division releases substantial resources for allocation into focus areas.