heritage

investing in value creation

heritage

investing in value creation

a legacy of firsts

Over five decades, Essar has seen tremendous transformation. Our DNA, though, remains unchanged since we began operations in 1969. Each of our milestones are testimony to the fact that we invest with the spirit of an entrepreneur, build assets with the passion of an owner, and manage businesses with the discipline of a professional.

1969 to 1979
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020

1969 to 1979

  • Essar is formed; the maiden venture saw us building a breakwater project at Chennai port, a first for an Indian company.
  • We continued to deliver infrastructure construction projects across India’s major ports. Our marine construction expertise soon led to a natural extension; we entered the shipping business.
  • Daring to enter an arena that was monopolised by foreign-flag vessels with access to advanced technology, we bought India’s first private tanker for moving petroleum products in 1976.

 

1969-to-1979

1980

  • Our spirited approach saw us laying an under-sea pipeline from the Bassein offshore gas field near Mumbai to Hazira in Surat by partnering with an American firm, Brown & Root.
  • When the Indian government opened the ownership and operations of Offshore Supply Vessels (OSV) to private Indian companies, Essar was among the first companies to enter the fray. In fact, we also bought Diving Support Vessels and Multi Support Vessels. This ensured we remained profitable despite challenging times.
  • Keen to be at the forefront of transforming the country’s growth prospects, we became India’s largest private rig operator when the government invited private Indian players for contract drilling.
  • To get past the cyclical volatility of the sectors in which the company was present, Essar decided to strengthen its portfolio by entering manufacturing. To enter a sector that was an import substitute and had long-term demand, we began manufacturing sponge iron at Hazira. It was the only alternative to imported steel scrap, which domestic manufacturers near the west coast of India relied on to produce steel. Soon, Essar set up a pellet plant in Visakhapatnam as part of its backward integration strategy and added steel manufacturing facilities and capacities at Hazira to gain value addition in its product line and forward integration.

 

1980

1990

  • With the liberalisation of the Indian economy, our vision for scale saw us venturing upstream and downstream in the Oil sector as well; we undertook exploration & production as well as refining.
  • We entered promising core sectors such as power and telecom sector, and with each business growing significantly, it was time for us to manage them as independent companies.
  • In partnership with Swiss PTT, Essar became the first company to start GSM operations under the brand name, Essar Cellphones, The business later evolved with partners like Hutchison and then Vodafone to build one of the world’s most valuable telecom companies.
  • Essar Shipping became the first Indian company to operate in Atlantic waters by diversifying and modernising its fleet; soon, more than 70% of its shipping revenues were coming from international operations.

 

1990

2000

  • Rising against the challenges of the industry environment, we ensured Essar Steel and Essar Oil stayed resolute despite growing pressure.
  • After settling Essar Steel’s debt, we bought stake in Hygrade Pellets Limited and Steel Corporate of Gujarat to drive efficiencies and scale. This, Research & Development interventions, and brownfield investments, especially in capacity expansions, resulted in Essar Steel becoming the largest integrated steel producer on India’s west coast. It also became the largest producers of flat steel in the country until 2019, when it was realised for US$ 6 billion under IBC.
  • Essar restructured its balance sheet to complete the refinery project in Vadinar, Gujarat (India), and began commissioning it in phases. Through upstream and downstream investments and capacity expansions, Essar Oil grew multi fold. At an opportune time, it was later sold to the consortium led by Rosneft, UCP and Trafigura for US$ 12.9 billion, which was the largest FDI into India in the energy sector at that time.
  • We monetised our 33% stake in Vodafone-Essar for US$ 5.46 billion, exiting the business at an opportune time and reaping almost 10 times returns on our investments.
  • When the vessel rates peaked, Essar sold its five Suezmax tankers and the funds from the sale were used to buy two very large crude carriers (VLCC) of modern vintage and three Cape-size vessels.
  • Essar Global Fund Limited (EGFL) and Essar Capital were established to manage the our portfolio assets in a strategic and sustainable manner, globally.

 

1969-to-1979

2010

  • Some of the pioneering investments were proactively monetised for an enterprise value of US$ 40 bn through large transactions with foreign and Indian entities.
  • We acquired Shell’s refinery at Stanlow in the United Kingdom, and helped turn around the company to deliver higher capacities of 10MTPA of refining capacity, and supplying aviation fuels and over 16% of the UK’s road transport fuel requirement.
  • We invest in building and expanding port capacities, commissioning strategically located terminals in Hazira, Salaya, Vadinar, Vizag and Paradeep.

 

1969-to-1979

2020

  • We actively focused on building a portfolio that sets benchmarks across sectors in the context of clean sustainable operations and inclusive, superior returns.
  • The Stanlow site becomes the hub for Essar’s investments in Hydrogen production and energy transition efforts.
  • We monetise infrastructure assets linked to erstwhile Essar Steel to its new owner AM/NS for the value of US$ 2.4 billion

 

1969-to-1979