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Vasudeo Goenka, patriarch of the family behind Mumbai speciality chemicals maker Laxmi Organic Industries is India’s newest billionaire. His wealth crossed the $1 billion mark this week thanks to a nearly 200% surge in the company’s shares since its March IPO.
Goenka, 81, is chairman emeritus of the $242 (revenue) million company, which is run by his elder son Ravi Goenka as chairman and managing director. His younger son Rajeev Goenka is a non-executive director. The Goenkas took the 32-year-old company public in an IPO that was oversubscribed 107 times.
Laxmi Organic makes specialty chemicals like acetyl intermediates that are used in an array of industries from pharma to agrochemicals to printing to adhesives. It is the largest manufacturer of ethyl acetate in India and the seventh largest in the world. It supplies this chemical to companies in the pharma, pigments and paint sectors.
It is also a bulk supplier of fuel-grade ethanol which is…