Gulf Oil acquires US specialty chemicals firm Houghton for $1.05 bn
07 Nov 2012
Gulf Oil Corp, part of the diversified UK-based Hinduja Group, yesterday acquired US-based specialty chemicals company Houghton International from investment firm AEA Investors LP, for $1.05 billion.
The acquisition of Houghton with its manufacturing plants around the world would be the largest-ever foreign acquisition by an Indian company this year, and comes shortly after Hyderabad-based Rain Commodities announced the takeover of German speciality firm Rutgers for $917 million.
London-based Hinduja Group is reported to have outbid private equity firms.
Gulf Oil, which sells lubricants and industrial explosives in India and ooverseas, said it plans to operate Houghton as a separate company.
Houghton's clients are from the aerospace, aluminum, automotive, bearing, defence, food and beverage, machinery fabrication, medical device, metal finishing, offshore, and steel industries.
With 2011 revenues of $467 million, Pennsylvania-based Houghton develops and produces specialty chemicals, oils, and lubricants.