Billionaire Aloke Lohia’s Indorama Ventures, Blackstone-Backed EPL To Merge Indian Packaging Business In $2 Billion Deal The proposed merger comes a year after Indorama Ventures—controlled by petrochemicals billionaire Aloke Lohia—bought an initial 24.9% stake in EPL from Blackstone for $219 million. Aloke Lohia, chief executive officer of Indorama Ventures Pcl, stands for a portrait in Bangkok, Thailand, on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019. Photographer: Nicolas Axelrod/Bloomberg—has agreed to merge its Indian packaging unit, Indovida India, with EPL, a company backed by U. S. private equity giant Blackstone, in a $2 billion deal.an initial 24.9% stake in EPL from Blackstone for 19 billion rupees . With a market cap of $1.2 billion, India-listed EPL manufactures plastic laminates and tubes for customers in pharmaceutical and the fast-moving consumer goods industries. “Combining Indovida with EPL is the logical next step and enables us to extend that foundation across formats and markets,” Aloke Lohia, group CEO of Thailand-listed Indorama Ventures said in a. “With our combined scale, supply chain resilience and sustainability capabilities, the merged entity is well positioned to deliver long‑term value to customers and shareholders alike.” Indorama will own 52% of the combined entity when the merger is completed within a year, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals. Blackstone will hold 17%, while the remaining shares will be owned by public investors. Shares of Indorama surged as much as 9.8% in Bangkok trading, while EPL jumped as much as 12% in Mumbai. The merged company will combine EPL’s expertise in flexible packaging with Indovida’s PET packaging business. Together, the new company is expected to generate about $1 billion in annual revenue and will focus on growing in emerging markets, according to Indorama Ventures.real-time data, Lohia is among the wealthiest in Thailand, where he lives. The Indian-born tycoon runs Indorama Ventures, the world’s largest producer of PET bottles by volume. His older brother, is chairman of Indorama Ventures as well as privately held Indorama Corp., maker of fertilizers and polyolefins which are used in making plastics.