Rain Commodities to buy Rutgers; stock gains

MUMBAI: Shares of Rain Commodities were in the limelight on reports that it has agreed to buy Belgium-based Rutgers, a manufacturer of coal tar pitch, for Rs 4,900 crore.

The main use of coal tar pitch and calcined petroleum coke is to make electrodes for aluminium smelters. Rutgers is the world’s second-largest coal tar pitch producer, and Rain Commodities the second biggest in the calcined petroleum coke business globally.

Rain, which is run by its reclusive managing director Jagan Mohan Reddy, is acquiring the stake from private equity firm Triton Partners through CII Carbon.

At 10:35 am, the stock was at Rs 42.95, up 4.12 per cent on the BSE. It touched a high of Rs 44.05 and a low of Rs 42.35 in trade today.