Nirma Ltd informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that it would purchase Searles Valley Minerals Operations and Searles Valley Minerals Inc (collectively known as SVM) from US-based private investment firm Sun Capital Partners Inc and other minority shareholders. HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India) Pvt Ltd advised Nirma on the acquisition of the natural soda ash manufacturer, while J P Morgan Securities Inc was advisor to SVM.
Many see Nirma's Lafarge deal as some kind of second coming for the Patels.
Nirma's tryst with the pharmaceutical space started in 2006 when it acquired the ailing Core Healthcare in a deal reported to be worth Rs 300 crore. The Ahmedabad-based manufacturer of intravenous fluids was subsequently renamed Nirlife. Pharma industry insiders say Nirma, which broke open the detergent market in the 1990s with low prices and massive advertising, tried an encore of the low-price strategy in pharma, but with mixed results.
