From the Business Standard comes word that Aditya Birla Nuvo is considering a bid for Evonik’s carbon black business.
The Aditya Birla Group is back in acquisition mode, as group firm Aditya Birla Nuvo may bid for the carbon black division of Germany’s Evonik Industries. The division, with annual sales of $1.3 billion and 1,700 employees across 12 countries, is the second largest in the world. According to two independent investment banking sources, AB Nuvo officials have been approached by bankers to buy out the carbon black division. In September, Evonik had identified the division as non-core and finalised plans to divest it. Aditya Birla Group, on the other hand, is the fourth-largest producer of carbon black at 900,000 tonnes per annum with facilities in India, Egypt, Thailand and China. Barclays has been appointed to help Evonik with the exercise.