ITC completes Rs 3,498 crore Century Pulp and Paper acquisition
The acquisition lifts ITC’s paperboards and paper capacity by more than 50% to around 1.5 million metric tonnes, strengthening its northern India presence, raw-material access and sustainable packaging capabilities.
What happened
ITC completed its Rs 3,498-crore acquisition of Century Pulp and Paper, lifting paperboards and paper capacity by over 50% to about 1.5 million tonnes. The deal
Key facts
- Rs 3,498 crore
- over 50% capacity increase
- around 1.5 million metric tonnes installed capacity
- 4.8 lakh metric tonnes per annum CPP capacity
- 6-7% annual Indian paper demand growth
- around 23 million tonnes annual Indian production
- over Rs 80,000 crore annual industry turnover
- ITC stock up 1.94% to Rs 286.45
Why this matters
ITC’s purchase of CPP signals a strategic move to consolidate upstream paperboard capacity and raw-material access in support of higher-growth packaging demand.
What to watch
- Post-acquisition capacity-utilisation rates and EBITDA margin trends in ITC's paperboards and packaging segment.
- Announcements on mill modernization, debottlenecking, captive power, pulp capacity or forestry investments.
- Changes in domestic wood prices, imported pulp costs and recovered-paper availability.
- Large packaging-paper order wins from FMCG, consumer durables, foodservice or e-commerce customers.
- Competitor price cuts, new paperboard capacity announcements or consolidation among Indian paper producers.
- Management disclosure of acquisition synergies, integration costs and return-on-capital targets.
- Integrate CPP's procurement, sales, logistics and plantation-development operations with ITC's existing paperboards business.
- Prioritize expansion of recyclable, barrier-coated and premium paperboard grades for FMCG, foodservice and e-commerce customers.
- Use the northern India manufacturing footprint to win regional contracts and reduce delivered-cost disadvantage versus local competitors.
- Increase captive-fibre and farm-forestry programs to protect margins against wood and pulp price volatility.
- Assess debottlenecking and modernization investments at acquired mills after initial integration.