Chatterjee Group to acquire 90% stake in MCC’s PTA unit in India

New York-based serial investor Purnendu Chatterjee of The Chatterjee Group (TCF) signed an agreement to acquire a 90% stake in Mitsubishi Chemical Corp.’s Indian subsidiary, MCC PTA India Corp. Pvt. Ltd, a producer of purified terephthalic acid, or PTA (a precursor to polyester), identified for an estimated $48 million, or Rs.323 crore at the current exchange rate.

The deal rescue MCC PTA potential closure and secures the jobs of some 1,100 workers, said a person close to Chatterjee.

At a board meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday, Mitsubishi Chemical said that it was scaling back its investments in commodity chemicals such as PTA to focus on other businesses as hence decided to divest itself of its PTA unit in Indiai and China as well.

Built at a cost of Rs.1,475 crore and commissioned in 1999, the company’s factory in Haldia in East Midnapore district is one of the biggest Japanese investments in India. Its capacity was expanded with a substantial investment of close to Rs.2,000 crore in 2009-10.

Chatterjee in a phone interview said that he was delighted to able to collaborate with a technological giant such as Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. But as the product lines are different, the deal may not have any immediate implication for TCG’s other major investment in West Bengal: Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL), in which Chatterjee recently acquired a controlling stake from the state government, ending years of bickering over control.

Chatterjee said that the deal is expected to make technology available to HPL to expand.

TCG, according to Mitsubishi Chemical’s statement, has operating assets worth $900 million across the world.

Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. said in a statement that the shares to be sold to TCG are valued at $48 million, but TCG did not mention the price in its media release. The cost of acquisition could go up, depending on the performance of MCC PTA, said Chatterjee’s associate.