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India's multinational Essar Group said Saturday it had clinched a deal to buy US-based Trinity Coal Partners for 600 million dollars as it seeks to secure raw materials.
Trinity's coal output is expected to be used to fuel Essar’s North American steel operations.
"Essar’s long-term business strategy is to ensure that its operations have proximity to global markets," Rewant Ruia, director of Essar Group, said in a statement.
Announcement of the purchase comes as cash-rich Indian companies step up overseas acquisitions that were put on hold during the global financial crisis.
The Indian business group, controlled by the Ruia family, said the deal was expected to closed by the end of the month.
Trinity, one of the top 10 US coal producers, is currently owned by Denham Capital, an energy- and commodities-focused global private equity firm.
Trinity owns and operates mines in Kentucky and West Virginia, and has a proven resource base of approximately 200 million tons of coal.
It produces seven million tons of coal annually and plans to increase production to 10 million tons a year.
Indian companies are back on the prowl for global assets whose prices appear relatively inexpensive compared with their peaks before the global slump, analysts say.
