Solar Industries buys South Africa’s Omnia in $1.3 billion deal

Nagpur-headquartered Solar Industries, through its overseas arms, has acquired South Africa’s Omnia Holdings for $1.3 billion in one of the largest outbound mergers and acquisitions deals in the defense sector.

Solar Industries, through its wholly owned step down subsidiary, Solar SA Investments Proprietary Limited, will acquire all outstanding shares of Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Omnia in an all-cash transaction, the company said in a stock exchange disclosure on Monday.

The deal is expected to enable Solar Industries to create a platform for commercial explosives and blasting solutions internationally.


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“The acquisition by Solar SA of Omnia will create most integrated global blasting platform that combines Omnia's vertically integrated manufacturing capabilities, ammonium nitrate production, surface bulk explosives and blasting services with Solar Group’s leadership in explosives, initiating systems and advanced blasting technologies,” said Manish Nuwal, managing director and chief executive officer, Solar Group.

“Together, the combined group will be positioned to offer most integrated blasting solutions, creating meaningful competitive advantages through enhanced supply security, greater economies of scale, technology differentiation, access to key mining markets across Africa and other international geographies, and deeper customer engagement,” he said.

Solar Industries will also be buying the integrated crop nutrition and biological solutions business that Omnia is engaged in. This is a new area for Solar Industries.

The Nagpur-headquartered company currently makes explosives for defense and industrial applications. Its explosives are used as propellants for missiles as well as for blasting solutions in mining.

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It has an order book of Rs. 11,000 crore from the defense sector as per its website.

Omnia is a diversified global group with complementary chemical and specialised businesses serving customers across the mining, agriculture and chemicals sectors. The Group has a physical presence in 23 countries, serves customers in more than 40 countries through over 70 distribution centres and employs more than 3,500 people worldwide.

Omni has revenues of $1.4 billion.