Aditya Birla Nuvo divests carbon black business

ABNL's carbon black manufacturing plants are located at Renukoot in Uttar Pradesh, Patalganga in Maharashtra, and Gummidipoondi in Tamilnadu, India. According to the company, it is the second largest producer of carbon black in India, covering approximately 40 % of the domestic market share and 2 % of global industry capacity. ABNL said the sale is aimed at reducing the company's debt and supporting its growth plans in other areas, particularly in the Financial Services and Agri businesses.

According to a Bloomberg news published on 9 April 2013, two people familiar with the matter said the Aditya Birla Group is in the process of merging all its carbon black units under the closely held SKI and may sell shares in the combined company. Group spokeswoman Pragnya Ram declined to comment on the company’s plan to combine the carbon black units, the news said.

With a total annual capacity of 2 million t, the Aditya Birla Group is one of largest producers of carbon black in the world. The group's carbon black business spans five companies in five countries: Alexandria Carbon Black in Egypt, Hi-Tech Carbon in India, Thai Carbon Black in Thailand, Liaoning Birla Carbon in China, and Columbian Chemicals in the USA.