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Khaitan & Co., alongside Herbert Smith, advised Russian petrochemical giant Sibur in sale of 74.9 per cent equity for Rs 22 bn ($450 m) to Reliance Industries for setting up a joint venture (JV) Greenfield project manufacturing synthetic rubber. Reliance Industries was advised in-house.

Khaitan & Co corporate partner Aakash Choubey and executive director Daksha Baxi acted for Sibur on Indian Law while Herbert Smith partner Nicholas Moore acted on foreign law.

The transaction, which was announced last week. also involves grant of license by Sibur for its proprietary butyl rubber production technology to the joint venture, according to Khaitan.

The operations of the JV under Reliance Sibur Elastomers will produce one lakh tonnes of butyl rubber annually, according to VC Circle. The production plant will be set up in Jamnagar, Gujarat by mid-2014, according to TOI.

This venture, directed to cater to the presently import-based Indian automotive industry, marks the debut of butyl rubber production in India and aims to globally become the fourth largest supplier of synthetic rubber, according to ET.