Essar Steel to become the country’s largest cold roller with an annual capacity of 2 million tones.
	Essar Steel to become the country’s largest colour coated steel producer with an annual capacity of 0.4 million tonnes and the largest exporter of colour coated steel.
	Essar Steel has the largest Service Centre facility with capacity of over 2.5 Million tonnes.
	Essar Steel Hypermart with over 230 outlets is India’s largest retailer of steel in India.

Essar Steel Limited (Essar Steel) today announced that it has entered into a definitive Business Transfer Agreement with Shree Precoated Steels Limited (SPSL) to acquire the entire assets and steel business of the Company. This agreement is subject to regulatory and other approvals.

As per the Agreement, the assets to be transferred include the plant comprising colour coating line (annual capacity 4,00,000 tonnes), cold rolling mill (annual capacity of 600,000 tonnes), galvanizing line (annual capacity of 500,000 tonnes) and pickling line (annual capacity 650,000 tonnes). Essar Steel will also take over the outstanding Bank/institutional debt and net current assets of the company. The plant is strategically located at Sanaswadi near Pune, Maharashtra, which is one of the largest steel consuming centre.

Commenting on the transaction, Mr. Shashi Ruia, Chairman, Essar Group said, “This is an excellent addition to our steel business and will enable Essar Steel to provide the entire range of flat steel products to our customers.”

Commenting on the acquisition, Mr. J. Mehra, CEO, Essar Steel Business Group said,”This acquisition is a strategic fit for our steel business as this gives us leadership position in many product segments and also gives us a foot print across different product segments.”

Mr. R S Ajmera, MD, Ajmera Group said, “We are the pioneers and one of the leading player in the colour coating industry and have nurtured this business over the past 15 years. We strongly believe that an integrated player like Essar Steel will be able to take this business to its next phase of growth. Ajmera Group will continue to focus on its core activity of real estate.“

On completion of the acquisition, Essar Steel will have the largest cold rolling capacity (2 Million tonnes), the largest Colour Coating facilities (0.4 million tonnes) largest galvanizing capacity (one Million tonnes) and pickiling capacity of 2.2 million tonnes in the country.

This acquisition will make Essar Steel the country’s only steel plant with integrated facilities from heavy plates, hot rolling, cold rolling, galvanizing and colour coating, with a full distribution business with Service Centre and Steel Hypermarts.

Essar Steel will now be able to provide end to end service to address the customers’ needs. This will support Essar Steel’ efforts to increase the share of value added products in its portfolio and fits well in the company’s expansion plans of having manufacturing facilities in different geographies.

Ernst & Young acted as the sole financial advisors to this transaction.

About Essar Steel
Essar Steel, global producer of steel, is a fully integrated flat carbon steel manufacturer—from iron ore to ready-to-market products. Essar Steel has a global steel production capacity of 14 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). Its products find wide acceptance in highly discerning consumer sectors, such as automotive, white goods, construction, engineering and shipbuilding. Essar Steel produces highly customised products catering to a variety of product segments and is India’s largest exporter of flat products to the highly demanding US and European markets, and to the growing markets of South East Asia and the Middle East. It has the country’s most extensive Service Centre capability with an annual capacity of 2.5 MTPA, and the largest network of steel retail outlets with over 230 branded Essar Hypermarts. It has invested in downstream capabilities to evolve from being a product based company to becoming a value added service provider.

For Media Queries
Manish kedia, Sr. VP – Corporate Affairs, Essar Group,
Phone: +91 98197 30092, Email: manish.kedia@essar.com

B.Ganesh Pai, GM - Corporate Communications, Essar Group,
Phone: +91 98197 30225, Email: ganesh.pai@essar.com