Adani in talks to buy Holcim’s cement ops

Mumbai: India’s centibillionaire Gautam Adani’s shopping spree continues, with his enterprise in advanced stages of discussions with Holcim to buy the latter’s local cement operations. Rival JSW Group too remains interested in Holcim’s local assets, Ambuja Cements and ACC.
According to Ambuja Cements and ACC websites, the two together have over 20 manufacturing plants in the country with a combined annual capacity of 64 million tonnes, second after Aditya Birla Group’s UltraTech, which has a capacity of 117 million tonnes.Ambuja Cements and ACC together have a market cap of Rs 1.20 lakh crore. It has been reported that UltraTech too has shown interest in Holcim’s India operations. However, an Aditya Birla spokesperson declined to comment on the news.
Holcim owns 63% of Ambuja Cements and it along with Ambuja Cements holds about 55% in ACC. The Swiss giant is reviewing its India play, 17 years after it entered the country with high hopes, as it looks to focus on core markets in a post-Covid world. Holcim, which has sold its businesses in Zambia, Malawi and Brazil in recent months, is yet to officially announce its India exit.
If Adani acquires Holcim’s local units, it will poll-vault the Ahmedabad-based infrastructure tycoon to be among the top players in India, the world’s second-largest building materials market after China. It will also be Adani’s biggest M&A after his acquisition of SB Energy for $3.5 billion last year.
While Adani has incorporated companies for a cement foray, they are yet to start operations. His team has been studying the cement industry and has been evaluating strategies whether to acquire existing facilities or to build one.
The Sajjan Jindal-controlled JSW Cement is in the midst of tying up funds for the proposed Holcim India buy. The company, in which private equity managers Apollo Global and Synergy Metals together invested Rs 1,500 crore, wants to accelerate capacity to 25 million tonnes from the current 14 million tonnes. A JSW Group spokesperson declined to comment on its interest for Holcim India.