Basell buyout changes market dynamics

With the buyout of European petrochem major Basell, TCG and Haldia will emerge as one of world8217;s leading producer of polypropylene and ...

With the buyout of European petrochem major Basell, TCG and Haldia will emerge as one of world8217;s leading producer of polypropylene and ethylene. When concluded, it will also be one of the biggest takeovers by any Indian entity abroad.

Industry sources say though Reliance Industries RIL will continue to remain a big player in the global market with its own capacity and the acquisition of Trevira, the TCG group and Haldia 8212; where TCG holds 43 per cent stake 8212; will also become global players.The Euro-6.7 billion Basell is the world8217;s leading polypropylene and the largest ethylene manufacturer in Europe with operations in 20 countries and a marketing network in more than 100 countries.

TCG is expected to take the board of Haldia, which has representatives of West Bengal government, into confidence. The Tatas hold a token 3 per cent stake in Haldia Petrochemicals.

Spotlight on Chatterjee

IIT Kharagpur alumni Purnendu Chatterjee has joined the growing list of Indians who are making headlines abroad.

An NRI, Chatterjee received both his masters and doctorate degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. Media-shy Chatterjee keeps a low profile and shot into fame in India after he played an important role in setting up joint sector Haldia Petrochem Ltd HPL.

Today, Chatterjee owns 43 per cent stake in the Rs 5,170-crore West Bengal-based petrochemical firm.

From 1974 to 1976, Chatterjee was a research associate at the Stanford Research Institute and joined McKinsey 038; Company. In 1986, he left McKinsey to invest in emerging markets like India with George Soros of Soros Fund Management.

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He founded 8216;The Chatterjee Group8217;, which is an affiliate of the New York-based Soros Fund. Chatterjee has also made equity investments in outsourced technology-based services, real estate, aviation, and financial services in India.

Largest Indian buyouts

	nbsp;	Foreign firm	Indian acquirer	Deal size	nbsp;
	nbsp;	Basell	TCG	5.6 bn	nbsp;
	nbsp;	25 in Greater Nile Oil Project	ONGC Videsh	670 mn	nbsp;
	nbsp;	50 in Angola Greater Plutonio Project	ONGC Videsh	600 mn	nbsp;
	nbsp;	Natsteel Asia Pte	Tata Steel	297.6 mn	nbsp;
	nbsp;	Flag Telecom	Reliance Infocomm	211 mn	nbsp;
	nbsp;	Sequoia Software	Citrix Software	184.60 mn	nbsp;
	nbsp;	Tyco Global Network	VSNL	130 mn	nbsp;