ET reported that the Aditya Birla Group after a closely fought contest with global biggies, bought out Canada's Novelis one of the world's largest rolled aluminum makers, for USD 6 billion.

But what caught attention in the Novelis deal was that Essel Mining & Industries, a little known, unlisted, closely held company within the Birla fold, had extended USD 300 million in equity, to fund the acquisition of the Canadian major.

Soon it emerged that Essel has been driving most of Aditya Birla Group's transactions serving as a holding company for the group and leading the business family's efforts to ramp up promoter holding in companies that were as diversified as aluminum and telecom and financial services.

One of the members of the team involved in the Novelis acquisition said that "Essel was a strong supporting factor in the days leading up to the acquisition of Novelis. The significance of having a company, almost 100% owned by the promoter, to bring in promoter equity, is enormous. It sends out the right signals that the group is serious.”

And from financial projections made recently, Essel Mining is likely to continue that. It is expected to double its net profit to USD 1 billion by 2015, with cash flow likely to act as a cushion for the group's various future plans

A senior group executive who is privy to Essel Mining's financials said that "Sales of iron ore have been strong and as prices of the mineral are also firm, the company is likely to double its earnings.” Being unlisted, it is not mandatory to file its financial information.

With a registered office in Kolkata, the USD 1.5 billion Essel Mining & Industries started operations in the 1950s when the group was much smaller. Through a chance transaction with an Odisha based mining magnate, Shyam Lal, the company acquired mines with proven reserves of 300 million tonnes of high grade iron ore in the Barbil-Barajamda belt of Keonjhar district in Odisha. The consideration for this acquisition is still not known.

(Sourced from ET)