Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has acquired the assets of the glycol division of SM Dyechem Ltd (SMDL) from the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) for a consideration of about Rs 100 crore.SMDL’s glycol division has a capacity of 80,000 tpa of mono-ethlylene glycol (MEG) and is located at Kurkumbh near Pune. This could be the largest sale of an asset seized by a banking entity under the Securitisation Act, bankers say.IDBI had earlier decided to sell the assets of the glycol division of SMDL after seizing the plant under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (Sarfaesi) Act, 2002, after the company failed to pay its dues to secured creditors, the release said.In October 2004, IDBI Ltd attached the glycol plant, which has accumulated losses of Rs 378.02 crore for the 2004 fiscal. The SMDL plant has been shut since 1996.Reliance’s MEG capacity including IPCL is slated to increase from 752,000 mt to 832,000 mt per annum at six locations across Gujarat and Maharashtra. This would make the company the fifth largest producer of MEG, a Reliance statement said.The acquisition also enables RIL to venture into MEG production from alchohol as all other existing facilities of RIL produce MEG from naphtha/natural gas. With the plant located in the sugar belt of Maharashtra, alcohol is available there from nearby sources.
