Member Article

Elland’s Bond It in £4.4 million joint venture with Indian listed firm

Elland-based Bond It the sealant and adhesive manufacturer, (and sponsor of Huddersfield Giants rugby club)– has entered into a joint venture agreement with Indian manufacturers of pipes and piping systems, Astral Poly Technik.

Bond It plans to use the £4.4 million joint venture relationship to continue ‘aggressive’ plans for expansion.

The business has enjoyed considerable growth and success over recent years and has supported this with significant investments into areas such as additional warehousing and high-efficiency production facilities.

Bond It’s existing senior management team retains its equity share in the business and remains in place.

Following an equity deal, the business will now operate in partnership with Gujarat-headquartered Astral Poly Technik Ltd.

Listed on both the BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) and NSE (National Stock Exchange of India), Astral Poly Technik is a £450 million business which manufactures a broad product portfolio.

Astral Poly Technik is also a major producer of Lubrizol Corporation CPVC products under license from this Berkshire Hathaway company which is both ranked on the Forbes Global 2000 list and part owned by US billionaire business magnate, Warren Buffett.

Financial due diligence for the deal was carried out by KMPG whilst Sandip Khroud, Associate in the Corporate team and India Specialist at law firm Irwin Mitchell, led the UK legal team. The deal was financed by HSBC.

Speaking of the new joint venture, David Moore, managing director at Bond It, said: “The deal with Astral Poly Technik comes after extensive negotiation and represents a win-win situation for everyone involved.

“By enjoying access to Bond It’s range, which includes plumbing solutions, our partners at Astral Poly Technik are able to complement their well-respected pipes and piping systems with a variety of related and equally high quality products.

“This will enable them to maximise some of the impressive opportunities offered by the Indian economy – one of the fastest growing in the world.

“For Bond It meanwhile, the additional backing will enable us to accelerate ambitious and global plans for the future, and to offer our growing customer base more products in more volumes than ever before.

“We will also be able to make further investments into those areas which make a real difference to customers – such as logistics, product development and sales support.”

Sandeep Engineer, CEO, Astral Poly Technik, added: “The equity deal with Bond It represents Astral Poly Technik’s second joint venture outside of India.

“We saw the company as an attractive investment opportunity after encountering its Indian operations and experiencing the quality of its products. We also recognise that the market for these products in India and in neighbouring countries is huge and continuing to grow.

“The joint venture will enable us to share in Bond It’s success and to add to it through the provision of additional backing, expertise and opportunities.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .