Mumbai: Nirma Ltd is ready to purchase US-based Searles Valley Minerals Inc. (SVM), from an associate of Sun Capital Partners Inc and other minority stockholders for full ownership.

The financial details of the deal were not disclosed yet.

The acquirement would permit the soap and detergent maker to lift yearly capacity of soda ash to over 2 million tones. This movement will place among the world's top seven producers of soda ash.

Nirma anticipates the acquisition to improve its annual earnings to over Rs 35 billion.

In the year to March 2007, it has registered a consolidated net profit of Rs 1.15 billion on net sales of 22.9 billion rupees.

In early trading (11:12 a.m.), Nirma shares stood at Rs 220.95, up Rs15.40 from its last closure. It had touched a high of Rs224.90 and a low of Rs209. The stock has made around 45% during the last 30 days.

SVM is a leading manufacturer of inorganic chemicals and is one of the five natural soda ash manufacturers in the US. It has three construction plants in the U.S. with a capacity of over 1.9 million tonnes.