In a move, which has surprised even the most avid watcher of the man, Mr. Subhash Chandra has managed to pull off a $ 350 million mega deal, which envisages the merger of the world''s fourth largest laminated tube producer, Propack Holding AG, with his own Essel Packaging Ltd. Essel, today, is the world''s second largest laminate tube producer.

The merged entity, to be christened as Essel Propack Limited, will create the world''s largest entity in the business of laminated tubes. The merger is expected to be completed by this year end. The merged entity is aiming to capture 80 per cent of the market share in India and China and 60 per cent of the global market by the year 2005.  The deal envisages, Essel to have a 34 per cent stake in the merged entity, while Propack will have a 22 per cent stake. The balance equity will be with the public. Essel will issue 6.88 million shares to shareholders of Propack, besides making cash payments to the tuen of $11 million.

Commenting on the deal, Mr. Bernhard A Schwyn, president Propack Holding AG told domain - B, "Its in line with the trends prevailing world over. To sustain our growth we need more muscle power. This is the best way to go about it." What also helped sew the deal was the fact that Mr .Schwyn and Mr. Chandra had known each other for more than 25 years.

Mr. Chandra described the merger, the second most important event in the history of Essel, as an accomplishment of a personal dream. He also said that by merging resources, the new company will aim at significantly enhancing the services and benefits for its valued customers. Further, its global presence in the four continents in this world combined with managerial expertise in dealing with such markets as India and China will help the company captain the future of our company worldwide.

Mr Schwyn reiterated that the merger was a "merger of unique strengths in global management, innovations and technology". According to him Propack could not have found more ideal partner than Essel Packaging.