Tide Water Oil Co. (India) Ltd, a member of Andrew Yule group, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Japanese firm JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation to form a joint venture (JV) in India.
The 50:50 JV will be responsible for manufacturing, selling, marketing and distributing Eneos brand of lubricants in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan and catering to the factory and service fill requirements of the Japanese original equipment manufacturers.
Founded in 1992, Kolkata-based Tide Water Oil manufactures automotive and industrial lubricants. Its products include engine oils for trucks, tractors, commercial vehicles, passenger cars and two/three wheelers. It is already a long standing partner of JX Nippon and has been making and selling lubricants under Eneos brand for the last two decades.
It manufactures and markets Veedol brand of lubricants and is selling around 70,000 kilo litres lubricant per annum in total, of which 25 per cent is Eneos. Eneos brand had a turnover of Rs 277 crore in FY13.
Eneos’ existing clientele portfolio includes Hero Corp, Yamaha, Honda Motors, Nissan and Isuzu.
In October 2011, the firm acquired UK-based Veedol International Ltd, a company which offers petroleum products, for an undisclosed amount from BP Plc.
Andrew Yule group has diverse interests in engineering, electrical, tea cultivation, power generation, digital communication systems and lubricants.
Shares of Tide Water Oil were trading at Rs 7765, up 2.28 per cent in a strong Mumbai market on Monday at 10.25 am.
JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp, the largest oil company in Japan, is into exploration, imports and refining of crude oil; manufacturing and sale of petroleum products, including fuels and lubricants, and other energy-related activities.
Its products are sold under the brand name Eneos which is also the name used for its service stations. Recently, it has been expanding its operations in other countries.
Corporate Catalyst India Pvt Ltd acted as an exclusive advisor to JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp on this transaction.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)