Mumbai: In a major move one of the world’s richest men Mukesh Ambani’s company Reliance has acquired a 74 percent stake in Nauyaan Shipyard Pvt Ltd (NSPL) from Welspun Corp Ltd. Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Ltd. which is a wholly owned unit of Reliance Industries acquired the company for Rs 382.73 crore. In September 2022 Welspun Corp via Nauyaan Shipyard purchased the Dahej shipyard from the insolvent ABG Shipyard Ltd in a private transaction under bankruptcy regulations for Rs 659 crore. The value of Nauyaan Shipyard is Rs 643.78 crore with debt and liabilities of Rs 126.57. The total equity value amounts to Rs 517.21 crore and NSPL is set to settle the Rs 93.66 crore owed to Welspun Corp. Welspun Corps decision to sell a 74 percent stake in its shipyard to a subsidiary of Reliance Industries has sparked speculation in the shipbuilding sector regarding Mukesh Ambanis potential interest in entering the shipbuilding business similar to what his brother Anil Ambani did in the past. This speculation is further amplified by the timing of the deal as the government is actively working to strengthen the domestic shipbuilding industry through a new financial assistance scheme a credit facility for ship recycling and a Maritime Development Fund worth Rs 25000 crore. It is worth noting that Anil Ambani owned Reliance ADA Group acquired Pipavav Shipyard which went bankrupt after some years. The company then acquired by Hazel Infra Ltd for Rs 2100 crore. The Nauyaan Shipyard located in Dahej is adjacent to Reliances manufacturing facility which was previously the state-owned Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd (IPCL) before being sold to Reliance Industries in 2002 as part of the governments disinvestment initiative. In 2007 IPCL was integrated into Reliance Industries. “Whether they will use it as a separate entity for something else or whether they will enter into shipbuilding is the question” said the owner of a shipyard located on the western coast. “Reliance can use this place; it has a waterfront and the price at which they got it is a very good price” he said. Reliance rubbished speculations of shipbuilding by saying that the land of the shipyard will be used for additional activities such as salt handling storage and brine preparation facilities. The shipbuilding sector questioned why Reliance Industries chose to purchase the yard from Welspun Corp rather than acquiring it directly through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).