Buying up the world

(Queensland,Australia) $2bMundra Port and Special Economic Zone – Abbot Point Coal TerminalGautam Adani, proprietor of the Adani Group in India, owns more than 80 per cent of Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone Ltd (MPSEZ) — the country’s largest private port. This year, MPSEZ acquired the rights to operate the Abbot Point Coal Terminal in Queensland, Australia for about $2 billion. The deal is designed to supplement Adani’s coal trading business as Australia is one of the world’s leading coal exporters.

(France) $265mWockhardt – Negma LaboratoriesThis was the Indian pharma company’s fifth acquisition running in Europe. Francebased Negma Laboratories was snapped up for about $265 million in 2007. The French firm was the fourth-largest pharmaceutical in France, with sales exceeding $150 million. The acquisition made Wockhardt the largest Indian pharma company in Europe — employing more than 1,500 people.

(South Korea) $730mVideocon – Daewoo Electronics CorpIndia’s largest electronics company – Videocon bought South Korea’s debt-laden electronics firm Daewoo in 2006 for $730 million. This deal was announced just day’s after Tata’s landmark purchase of Corus — marking a phenomenal year for Indian companies. The year after, 2007, saw the most prolific buying spree ever undertaken by Indian firms — with M&A volumes breaking the $69 billion mark.

(UK) $87mTimes of India Group – Virgin RadioDespite being one of the smaller acquisitions, it was headline catching all the same, as an Indian firm had snapped up a household western brand. Virgin is Britain’s first commercial rock radio station, and was purchased for about $87 million by Bennett Coleman & Co Ltd (BCCL), a subsidiary of the Times Group. At the time of purchase it was BCCL’s 33rd radio station.

(UK) $14.3bTata Group – Corus; Jaguar and Land RoverIn 2006, Tata Steel became the world’s fifth-largest steel by acquiring the Anglo-Dutch company Corus. Although the original purchase amount was set at close to $7 billion (Dh25.7 billion), interest from Brazilian competitor CSN pushed that number up to a total cost of over $12 billion. In 2008, Tata Motors paid $2.3 billion to purchase the iconic Jaguar and Land Rover brands from Ford, the first move by an Indian company to stamp its place as a global leader in the automotive industry.

(Brazil) $329mShree Renuka Sugars – Equipav SAIndia is the world’s largest consumer of sugar. Despite its high production capacity, local demand cannot be met without imports. Brazil happens to be the world’s largest producer of sugar — the potential synergies are obvious. In this context, India’s largest sugar refiner, Renuka Sugars, purchased 51 per cent of Brazilian sugar mill operator Equipav in 2009. This is Renuka Sugars’ second acquisition of Brazilian sugar assets after Vale Do Ivai for $82 million.

(UK) $1.9bOil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) – Imperial EnergyIn its largest ever overseas acquisition, ONGC bought over 96 per cent shares of Londonlisted Imperial Energy for around $1.9 billion in late 2008. The move was seen as a strategic reach for Siberian resources owned by Imperial to bridge the supply gap at home in India. Five years earlier, ONGC had made similar moves as it bought a 20 per cent share of Exxon Mobil Corp’s Sakhalin-I field in Russia for $1.7 billion.

(Kuwait) $10.7bBharti Airtel – ZainKuwaiti-owned Zain is Africa’s largest Indian-owned asset. The $10.7 billion deal opened up access to 15 markets across the African continent, where the company is said to have upwards of 42 million customers. India’s telecom market is considered to fairly diluted with tariff wars driving down profitability for firms. Bharti Airtel’s venture into Africa has made it the world’s fifth-largest mobile operator.

Hindalco – Novelis(USA) $6bIn 2007, the flagship company of the Aditya Birla conglomerate, Hindalco, purchased Atlantabased aluminium rolling company Novelis in an all-cash transaction that valued the US firm at about $6 billion. The move was a clearcut piece of vertical integration by the aluminum manufacturer. Having secured the aluminum supply chain, Hindalco is now recouping its investment by funding expansion plans in India through Novelis cash flow.