Rajesh Exports to foray gold mining

Acquires Swiss gold refinery Valcambi for $400 mn all-cash deal

Mumbai: Jewellery firm Rajesh Exports on Monday announced acquisition of Switzerland-headquartered gold refinery Valcambi for $400 million (about Rs 2,560 crore) in an all-cash deal, and said it is looking at venturing into gold mining in the next 2-3 years.

"Acquiring Valcambi gold refinery is our first step towards venturing into mining. We are hoping to venture into gold mining in the next 2-3 years time," Rajesh Exports MD Prashant Mehta said. The company is also planning to expand its refinery at Rudrapur, Uttarakhand with technology from Valcambi, he said.

"In 1-2 years, we are planning to expand our refinery in Uttarakhand with world-class technology from Valcambi. This will be under the 'Make in India' initiative that help us in providing international raw material in the domestic market." Valcambi was owned by Newmont Mining Corporation and a group of Swiss investors.

Commenting on the acquisition, Rajesh Exports Chairman Rajesh Mehta said: "With this acquisition, we will also be acquiring a larger market share besides helping in our global gold business expansion. We will seamlessly integrate Valcambi into Rajesh Exports Ltd (REL) group and will continue with the professional and globally acclaimed management of Valcambi."

This acquisition will add significantly to the revenues and profitability of REL Group during the coming years, he added.The company said that with the acquisition, REL will become an integrated player covering precious metal refining and gold jewellery making. Further, Mehta said about 30-35 per cent of the funding of this acquisition is done by Credit Suisse through a long term debt and the rest is through internal accrual.