Dorf Ketal, India’s largest research-based specialty chemicals manufacturer with an annual revenue of Rs 2500 crore, has entered into an agreement to acquire the business of Ahmedabad based Khyati Chemicals.

 

The deal will help Dorf Ketal to diversify its revenue stream and enter into performance chemicals business where Khyati Chemicals has a strong presence. Promoted and professionally managed by the first- generation entrepreneur, Khyati Chemicals, a Rs 225 crore company is India’s second largest player in the Optical Brightening Agents business having valuable customers like Unilever, Ghadi, Trident India Papers etc. The Company competes against the likes of Deepak Nitrite, Meghmani, Archroma etc., and has been the margin leader & major independent player in the country in its line of business.

 

Definitive agreements have been signed between current promoters of Khyati Chemicals India Pvt Ltd and Dorf Ketal Chemicals India Pvt Ltd to acquire 100% stake. The deal will result in Khyati Chemicals becoming a wholly-owned arm of Dorf Ketal.      

 

Global Investment banking firm Singhi Advisors acted as the exclusive financial and strategic advisor to the transaction.

 

Khyati Chemicals India Pvt Ltd is a Rs 225 crore company and ranks as India’s second largest player in the business of Optical Brightening Agents (OBA). The Ahmedabad based company is a consistently profitable, cash generating company in the performance chemical space, catering to high growth segments like Detergents, Textiles & Papers, and servicing global markets with quite a diversified revenue stream.

 

Dorf Ketal is the largest Indian manufacturer of research-based specialty chemicals such as specialty catalysts, lubricant additive components, oil field chemicals, fuel additives, amine removal agents, visbreaker antifoulant etc. which go into the use of refineries, petrochemical plants and ancillary units. The company holds more than 300 patents including 50 US patents and 1/3rd of the crude refined in the world’s largest refineries is treated using the products manufactured by the company.  It has direct presence in the countries such as the US, Netherlands, Brazil, Singapore, Malaysia, China and Fujairah through its wholly owned subsidiaries.

 

Sudhir Menon, MD, Dorf Ketal said: “We believe that Khyati Chemicals and Dorf Ketal together would form a strong organization where Dorf Ketal can use its technological leadership and strong global sales force to provide global reach to the products conceptualized and developed by Khyati Chemicals. Khyati Chemicals has a stronghold in export markets like Brazil, China, Argentina, Germany, Indonesia, Thailand etc and given our experience and offices in these key markets we would be able to add significant value towards execution of the global growth plan. We are quite excited to enter this new line of business and leverage our capabilities of working in the global markets”

 

Having achieved leadership position in its current line of business, Dorf Ketal wanted to diversify its revenue stream and enter into lucrative performance chemical business and Khyati Chemicals offered a perfect fit having valuable customers like Unilever, Ghadi, Trident India Papers, JK Papers, Khanna Papers etc. “The Promoters of Khyati Chemicals agreed to divest 100% equity stake in their company to a strategic buyer who could take the company to the next level of growth and fully exploit its global potential. Dorf Ketal seized this opportunity to diversify and add significant value towards execution of the global growth plan”, said Sudhir Menon of Dorf Ketal.

 

Mahesh Singhi, Founder and Managing Director, Singhi Advisors said: “Singhi has a long-standing relationship with both Dorf Ketal as well as Khyati Chemicals and takes pride in having been involved in `cultivating and closing’ this transaction. We deeply cherish our relationship and are enthusiastic about the growth for Khyati Chemicals in the hands of Dorf Ketal with this transaction”. He added, this transaction marked Singhi Advisors 5th deal in the Chemicals Sector in the recent past.”