INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - FEBRUARY 16^st - FEBRUARY 29^th - 2008

NRI BUSINESSMAN S SIVASANKARAN BUYS NORWEGIAN FIRM FOR RS 1200 CR

NRI businessman S Sivasankaran has acquired a Norwegian shipping firm, JB Ugland Shipping (JBUS), for Rs 1,200 crore. JBUS is a Norway-headquartered shipping company with a fleet of 40 owned and longtime chartered vessels, a mix of tankers and chemical and bulk carriers.

Mr. Sivasankaran has routed the acquisition through Siva Ventures, his flagship company which controls Sterling Infotech, a domestic telecom firm. Siva Ventures, with a turnover $2 billion, has business interests in a variety of industrial sectors like media, biofuels, wind energy and real estate. Mr Sivasankaran had hit the headlines in 2005 by selling his telecom business Aircel to Maxis of Malaysia for $800 million.