Tata Chemicals on April 07, 2018 signed a Business Transfer Agreement with Allied Silica (ASL) to acquire their business of precipitated silica including its plant at SIPCOT Industrial Park Phase II, Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, on a slump sale basis.

The acquisition is expected to be closed within 3 months. The cost of acquisition is up to Rs 1.23 billion to be paid subject to fulfilment of certain conditions and milestones.

This acquisition is a part of the Rs 2.95 billion investment approved by the Board of TCL in February 2017, for entry into the Highly Dispersible Silica (HDS) business.

The transaction includes the acquisition of an existing manufacturing site for manufacturing precipitated silica in Tamil Nadu, which has been recently commissioned.

The specialty chemical product represents a downstream value addition to Tata Chemicals soda ash business, where it ranks among the top manufacturers globally.

Precipitated silica is a versatile product with applications in many industries including rubber, oral care, coatings, agrochemicals, etc. The acquisition also offers the possibility to make value added silica in the future for applications that demand high performance.

Shares of the company gained Rs 6.4, or 0.88%, to trade at Rs 730.00. The total volume of shares traded was 8,307 at the BSE (9.26 a.m., Monday).