Nithia Capital (“Nithia”) and Evonith Holdings Pte Ltd (“Evonith”) are pleased to announce the successful closure of its acquisition of Topworth Urja and Metals Limited (“Urja”) for a total consideration of INR 300 Crores (US$ 34 Mn). Evonith is an investment holding company of Nithia.
This is the third successful acquisition of steel assets in India by Nithia, which commenced with Evonith Metallics Limited (“EML”) and Evonith Value Steel Limited (“EVSL”)[1], subsequently followed by Crest Steel and Power Limited (“Crest”). Post-acquisition, Crest was successfully sold to Amalgam Steel.
Located near Nagpur, Maharashtra, Urja is a 0.2 mtpa long products steel producer with integrated facilities from direct reduced iron production, steelmaking and rolling mill facilities. Furthermore, the company has 35 MW of captive power plants and vital thermal coal mining licenses. A substantial rehabilitation and growth capex plan is envisaged to increase steelmaking operation to 0.5 mtpa and ensure the power plants are producing at full capacity.
Commenting, Jai Saraf, Chairman of Evonith Steel, Founder and CEO of Nithia said, “The acquisition of Urja is another strategic step for Nithia in achieving steelmaking capacity in excess of 6.0 mtpa and creating a world class steel production base in India. Evonith Steel’s story in India is growth focused – both organically and inorganically. We aim to make Urja one of the leading long steel producers in the region as we have done with Evonith Steel at Wardha, which is now well set on its growth journey to achieve an overall fully integrated steel production capacity of 3.0 mtpa.”
Nithia acquired Evonith Steel in December 2020, when it was loss-making and operating below 0.5 mtpa. Now producing 1.4 mtpa with a broader product range, the company has achieved higher output, completed projects, improved performance and profitability, and is well positioned for future growth.
Commenting further Rajib Ranjan Guha, Non – Executive Director of Urja and Partner at Nithia said “The Urja acquisition provides us with a diversified product portfolio across our Indian asset base – both flat & long steel products. We now look forward to embarking on enhancing production and brining this asset back to economic success. This transaction further validates the success of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).”