Tech Push: HPL and Rhone acquires Lummus for $2.725 billion

HPL’s policy initiative to pivot upstream investments in ‘Oil to Chemical’ sector is likely to receive a major boost as a result of association with Lummus, Purnendu Chatterjee, TCG’s founder chairman, said. (Website image)

Haldia Petrochemicals Limited (HPL), a part of The Chatterjee Group (TCG), and Rhone Capital have acquired the US-based Lummus Technology, at an enterprise value of $2.725 billion from McDermott International.

Lummus is a leading master licensor of proprietary technologies in refining, petrochemicals, gas processing and coal gasification. It is also a supplier of proprietary catalyst equipment and related engineering services.
DP Patra, HPL’s strategic advisor, told Fe HPL has acquired the controlling stake of 57% with Rhone Capital holding the rest. Lummus will function as a stand-alone autonomous entity, Patra said.

Lummus Technology has around 130 licensed technologies and more than 3,400 patents and trademarks. The US-headquartered TCG, which has a controlling stake in HPL with its manufacturing facility in Haldia owns and controls companies in sectors like petrochemicals, pharmaceutical, biotech, financial services, real estate and technology.

Rhone Capital is a global private equity firm, which specialises in investments in market leading businesses and has a pan-European and trans-Atlantic presence. The company has stake in a diversified portfolio of companies in chemicals, consumer products, food, industrial materials, mining and shipping industries.

“TCG has all along focussed on investments in knowledge based industries,” Subhashendu Chatterjee, whole time director in HPL, said, adding the company with its two decades of rich experience in manufacturing ‘best in class’ polymer products and downstream chemicals would partner with Lummus in evolving technological improvements.

Lummus and HPL together would be in a position to provide a more compelling ‘value proposition’ to the clients of Lummus in India and abroad. HPL’s policy initiative to pivot upstream investments in ‘Oil to Chemical’ sector is likely to receive a major boost as a result of association with Lummus, Purnendu Chatterjee, TCG’s founder chairman, said.

“Our investments are both strategic and long term, most of which span across 25 to 30 years. We have primarily focused on knowledge based enterprises, and as such Lummus is a great addition to our portfolio. It will deliver sustainable value to clients in the areas of materials technology,” Chatterjee added.