Mumbai, Sept 27 :     Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has acquired Raymond Synthetics in a Rs 22.33 crore deal that will raise its polyester filament yarn production by 30 per cent, making it the fifth largest PFY producer in the world. The acquisition is being made through Reliance?s associate company, Silvassa Yarn and Investments Ltd (SYIL). Under the agreement, SYIL will acquire Vijaypat Singhania-owned Raymond Ltd?s 36 per cent stake in Raymond Synthetics at Rs 5 per share. It will make an open offer to acquire another 20 per cent from the public and other shareholders for which it will have to fork out Rs 12.4 crore.. Raymond Synthetics is the fourth largest polyester producer in India with capacities to produce 66,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of PFY and 8,000 tpa of polyester chips. In a statement here today, RIL said it would utilise Raymond Synthetics? polyester capacities under a long term conversion agreement under which RIL would supply the basic raw materials ? purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and mono ethyl glycol (MEG) ? for the entire polyester capacity of Raymond Synthetics. Raymond Synthetics which was incorporated in 1987. Its plant near Allahabad was commissioned in 1991 in technical and financial collaboration with Toray of Japan which is a world leader in the field of synthetic fibres. Toray has a 10.3 per cent stake in the company. Raymond Synthetics stumbled into the red in 1996 when it reported a net loss of Rs 9 lakh. By March 1997, its losses had ballooned to Rs 22.3 crore when the media first began to speculate about its sale to Reliance. The deal, however, did not come off then because the two sides could not agree on a price. Since then, its fortunes have nosedived: for the year ended March 1999, it reported a net loss of Rs 29.9 crore on a turnover of Rs 357 crore. Late last week, the markets were again abuzz with the rumour that Reliance was poised to acquire the ailing synthetic yarn maker. On Monday, the Raymond Synthetics scrip closed at Rs9 on the BSE. With the addition of Raymond Synthetics? capacity, Reliance?s annual capacity is slated to increase from 228,000 tonnes per annum to around 300,000 tpa. Reliance?s domestic market share would further increase from 25 per cent to 32 per cent. The acquisition of Raymond Synthetics reaffirms Reliance?s recent announcement that it would double its polyester capacity over the next three years.