ICCI Ventures to sell stake in Ace Refractories to Imerys

Chennai, Aug 1 (UNI) ICICI Venture, a leading private equity firm, today announced a definitive agreement with Imcrys, a leader in industrial minerals, to sell its 99 per cent stake in Ace Refractories Limited.

Imerys will acquire the stake through its wholly-owned subsidiary Calderys, a leader in monolithic refractories, ICICI Venture company release here said.

The transaction follows a period of significant growth and profitability of Ace driven by strategic initiatives undertaken by ICICI Venture to strengthn Ace's market-leading position in the refractory industry.

With FY 2006-2007 revenue of Rs 321 crore, Ace was the second largest company in the country in the refractory industry and largest in the monolithic segment, it claimed.

Under ICICI Venture's ownership, Ace achieved more than a 38 per cent increase in EBITDA, the release claimed.

UNI