ITC to conclude Rs 3,498-crore Century Pulp buy next week

NEW DELHI: ITC is set to conclude its Rs 3,498 crore purchase of Century Pulp and Paper next week, after delays related to lease transfers and Competition Commission of India approvals impacted deal closure timelines, said people familiar with the matter. ITC, India's largest paper manufacturer, and Aditya Birla Group, which owns Century Pulp and Paper, had reached an agreement regarding the deal on March 31 last year.

Century Pulp and Paper owns factories that can churn out about half a million tonnes of paper each year.

The transaction will be concluded next week after certain leases are transferred from Aditya Birla Real Estate, which houses Century Pulp and Paper, to ITC, the people said. ITC and Aditya Birla Group did not respond to ET's queries till press time.


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The acquisition of Century Pulp and Paper will augment ITC's paper manufacturing capacity by about 50% to more than 1.5 million tonnes. ITC uses almost 40% of its paper manufacturing capacity in-house, by some estimates. ITC has four paper manufacturing facilities in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.