Mumbai, Dec. 20: Brunner Mond, the UK-based wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Chemicals, has acquired a 100 per cent stake in British Salt for £93 million.

British Salt makes pure dried vacuum salt products and has a 50 per cent market share in the country. It owns brine wells in the UK with a residual life of 50 years that will offer long-term supplies to Brunner Mond. The transaction will be entirely funded by debt without recourse to the parent, Tata Chemicals.

Tata Chemicals managing director R. Mukundan said, “The acquisition is in line with the strategy of Tata Chemicals to deepen its presence in the ‘food and farm’ sectors and will result in securing raw materials for Brunner Mond operations. This will help Brunner Mond maintain its low-cost manufacturing position in Europe and provide great opportunity to optimise the costs further.”

Mukundan also expected that the combined entity would be able to improve the financial position of the company’s European operations.

The transaction that has been structured through Tata Chemicals Europe Holdings Limited is expected to close in a month’s time.

British Salt has annual revenues of roughly £30-£35 million.

It makes pure white salt at a plant located in Middlewich, Cheshire, and can produce more than 7,20,000 tonnes annually. Besides making salt and salt products, British Salt is active in the gas storage business, and Tata Chemicals expects this business to generate additional cash flows.

In March 2008, Tata Chemicals became the world’s second-largest maker of soda ash after it acquired US-based General Chemicals for $1 billion.