Tata Chemicals has joined the growing list of companies from the Rs 65,000-crore Tata group by going global. The Tata Chemicals board today approved a decision to acquire a stake as an equal partner in Indo Maroc Phosphore S.A. (Imacid), Morocco, which manufactures phosphoric acid. Tata Chemicals is buying shares from the two existing JV partners for Rs 166 crore ($38 million). The transaction is subject to regulatory and other approvals. Tata Chemicals will nominate its representatives on the board of Imacid as non-executive directors after the agreements are signed within the next few weeks.

Imacid was promoted in 1997 as a joint venture between Office Chérifien des Phosphates, Morocco (OCP), a state-owned company incorporated in the Kingdom of Morocco and Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd. Imacid commenced production in 1999. It produced 373,895 tonnes of phosphoric acid in 2004 with a turnover of $144 million and is a well-established company. India imports 50 per cent of the world's production of phosphoric acid, which is required for the manufacture of diammonium phosphate, a higher analysis fertiliser used extensively in the country.

Morocco is not only the largest exporter of phosphatic rock in the world but also of phosphoric acid, accounting for over 40 per cent of the world's trade in acid. Managing director Prasad Menon said Tata Chemicals’ entry into Imacid is both timely and strategic.