UltraTech buys 23% in India Cements in `1,885-cr deal

New Delhi: India’s leading cement maker UltraTech on Thursday said it will acquire a 23 per cent stake in its Chennai-based rival India Cements Ltd, in a deal estimated to be around Rs1,885 crore. As part of the transaction, UltraTech Cement will acquire 7.06 crore equity shares of India Cements at a price of up to Rs267 per share, according to a regulatory filing from the Aditya Birla Group flagship firm. The Board of company at its meeting held on Thursday approved making a financial investment to purchase up to 7.06 crore equity shares of India Cements Ltd, the filing said.

Calculated on the basis of Rs267 per share, the transaction value of the acquisition stood at Rs1,885crore.

“This non-controlling financial investment constitutes around 23 per cent of the equity share capital of India Cements,” said UltraTech. UltraTech with an installed capacity of 152.7 million tonnesper annum (MTPA) of grey cement, is in expansion mode.

On April 20 announced the acquisition of a grinding unit from India Cements in Maharashtra for a consideration of Rs315 crore. Earlier this week, UltraTech Cement also announced a revision of its offer to acquire 25 per cent in UAE-based RAK Cement Co for White Cement and Construction Materials PSC (RAKWCT). In the last 12 months, UltraTech has expanded its capacity by 18.7 MTPA.