Reliance Industries has acquired the assets of Gujarat-based Kemrock Industries & Exports Ltd. which will allow the company to manufacture composites including carbon fibre, a material whose global sales are expected to double by 2020.
The Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate won these assets in an online auction conducted by a consortium of 11 lenders led by Allahabad Bank, said a media statement by Reliance. The size and other details of the deal have not been disclosed yet.
The acquisition is “part of Reliance's efforts to enter the composites business” and Kemrock's assets allow it to “foray into new materials”, the statement added. This will “further strengthen its petrochemicals business portfolio”, Reliance added.
Carbon fibre has seen increasing interest from defence manufacturers, automakers and wind turbine makers for the material's strength, heat resistance and lightness.
The market for carbon fibre is expected to more than double to $4.7 billion in 2020 from $2.2 billion in 2015, according to Allied Market Research.
Ambani isn't the only Indian billionaire looking to take advantage of this rally though. The Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Aditya Birla Group too is eyeing an entry into carbon fibre production, Bloomberg had reported in April.
Shares of Reliance ended 0.7 percent up, compared to the country's benchmark BSE Sensex that closed 0.46 percent lower.
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