Tata Chemicals will raise $850 mln debt for US acquisition

New Delhi, Mar 25 (UNI) Tata Chemicals Ltd (TCL), part of the Tata group, today said the company will raise 850 million dollars through debt to fund its acquisition of US-based General Chemical Industrial Products (GCIP).

''The finances have been tied up and the regulatory approval is expected in another couple of days,'' comapny MD Homi Khusrokhan told reporters on the sidelines of a conference.

The details will be given after the deal is done, Mr Khusrokhan added.

The company entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Soda Ash business of GCIP for 1,005 million dollars. The acquisition leads to a sizeable increase in TCL's global soda ash capacity making it one of the largest Soda Ash producers worldwide. Over 50 per cent of this capacity will be from the natural route, which is a significantly more economical route of producing Soda Ash than the synthetic route and is a natural hedge against the commodity cycle.

The acquisition, together with other global soda ash facilities, will give TCL a unique market position. The merger will provide TCL access to markets in North America, Latin America and the Far East which complement its existing markets.

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