LONDON â€" The Gulf Oil Corporation, an Indian company, agreed on Wednesday to buy the chemical and lubricant company Houghton International from the private equity firm AEA Investors for $1 billion.
Gulf Oil, which is part of the Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group, said it would use the strong presence of Houghton in the United States, Europe and Asia to expand its lubricants operations, primarily in the industrial and automotive sectors.
Gulf Oil is controlled by the Hinduja brothers, billionaires who operate companies in sectors like energy, media and banking.
Gulf Oil, based in Hyderabad, India, manufactures lubricant products for the agricultural, automotive and industrial sectors. Houghton, based in Houston, will continue to be run as a separate business. The acquisition will be made through Gulf Oil's British unit, according to a company statement.
Houghton reported pretax profit of $132 million for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, on revenue of $858 million, Gulf Oil added.
AEA Investors, based in New York, acquired Houghton in 2007 for an undisclosed amount.
RBC Capital Markets advised Gulf Oil on the deal, while Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley advised AEA Investors.
This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: November 7, 2012
An earlier version of this article misstated Houghton International's results. It reported pretax profit of $132 million for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, not pretax sales.
