Tata Chemicals (TCL), part of the Tata Group, has entered into definitive agreements to acquire the soda ash business of General Chemical Industrial Products Inc (GCIP), a US based chemical company, for US$1,005 million. Harbinger Capital Partners is GCIP's majority shareholder. The transaction is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

GCIP's subsidiary, General Chemical (soda ash) Partners (GCSAP), is a significant soda ash producer in the US with a capacity of 2.5 million tpa of natural soda ash. GCSAP has mining and manufacturing facilities located at Green River Basin in Wyoming, USA, which provides it access to the world's largest and most economically recoverable trona ore deposits that is then converted into soda ash.

The acquisition of GCIP will lead to a sizeable increase in TCL's global soda ash capacity making it one of the largest soda ash producers worldwide. Over 50 per cent of this capacity will be from the natural route, which is a significantly more economical route of producing soda ash than the synthetic route and is a natural hedge against the commodity cycle. This acquisition, together with its other global soda ash facilities, will give TCL a unique market position.

The merger will provide TCL access to markets in North America, Latin America and the Far East, which complement its existing markets.