Tata Chemical's arm completes acquisition of British Salt

MUMBAI: Tata Chemicals today said its wholly-owned UK arm Brunner Mond has completed the acquisition of Cheshire Salt Holdings Ltd (CSHL), parent company of British Salt.

Brunner Mond has received the requisite regulatory approvals to complete the acquisition of Cheshire Salt Holdings, Tata Chemicals said in a statement here.

"The acquisition provides an opportunity to secure long-term brine supplies for Brunner Mond operations," Tata Chemicals Managing Director R Mukundan said.

This acquisition was for 93 million pounds (around Rs 650 crore).

Apart from the core business of salt manufacturing and supplying, British Salt's profitability in the gas storage business makes this a promising business model which has the potential to generate additional cash flows for the enterprise, Mukundan had earlier said.

Mukundan had said that the acquisition will not only help Tata Chemicals strengthen its presence in the processed food market but also help Bruner Mond to maintain a low-cost manufacturing position in Europe.

It will also help the overall financial position of the companies European operations, he added.

Cheshire Salt, based in Middlewich, produces about half of UK's pure salt used in applications ranging from food processing to chemicals production.

This will complement Tata Chemicals-owned Brunner Mond's experience in manufacturing bulk products, including soda ash and sodium bicarbonate.