Aditya Birla Group in talks to buy Columbian Chemicals for Rs4,100 crore

The $29-billion diversified conglomerate Aditya Birla Group is planning to buy US-based carbon black manufacturer Columbian Chemicals from One Equity Partners, the Business Standard newspaper today reported citing two sources.

Columbian, the world's third-largest carbon black manufacturer after Boston, Massachusetts-based Cabot and Germany's Evonik, had a global market share of 9 per cent of the 12.7-million tonne per annum (tpa) global carbon black capacity in 2009.

The deal that is likely to be announced next week, is expected to cost around $900 million (Rs4,100 crore).

Georgia-based Columbian is the world's third-largest carbon black manufacturer, the material used in the making of tyres and synthetic rubber as well as in several industrial applications.

Carbon black is primarily used to improve the strength, durability, and overall performance of a range of products including tires and other mechanical rubber goods, as well as inks, paints, plastics, and coatings.

Columbian was jointly acquired in 2006 for about $600 million by One Equity Partners, the buyout arm of JPMorgan Chase and South Korea's DC Chemical from Arizona-based miner Phels Dodge, now a subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan.