MUMBAI: Ahmedabad-based billionaire Gautam Adani has just cemented his group’s presence in the construction materials business.
Of the total annual capacity of 540 million tonnes in India – the world’s second-largest cement market after China – UltraTech accounts for 117 million tonnes, while Ambuja Cements-ACC is at 70 million tonnes. Holcim owns 63.11% in Ambuja Cements and 54.53% in ACC – the twin assets through which it entered India in 2005.
Adani, in line with India’s M&A rules, will make an open offer to acquire an additional 26% stake in the two publicly traded companies. The value for the Holcim stake and open offer consideration for Ambuja Cements and ACC is $10.5 billion, the Indian conglomerate said. Adani has offered Rs 385 for a share of Ambuja Cements and Rs 2,300 apiece for ACC. The offer prices are at a premium to Ambuja Cement’s and ACC’s Friday closing prices of Rs 359 and Rs 2,114 on the BSE.
“We are acquiring some of the most efficient building materials operations in India, powered with clean technologies like heat recovery systems. We recognize that Ambuja Cements and ACC operations are energy intensive and therefore, when combined with our renewable power generation capabilities we gain a big headstart in the decarbonisation journey that is a must for cement production,” said Adani, who has inked the deal through an offshore special purpose vehicle.
A first-generation entrepreneur with a net worth of about $100 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, 59-year-old Adani has been expanding his empire beyond logistics, energy and agri-business into newer areas such as data centers, steel, petrochemicals and digital.
Ambuja Cements-ACC has a combined footprint of 31 manufacturing sites and 78 ready-mix concrete plants with 10,700 people across India. The deal, subject to local authorities approval, is expected to be concluded by the second half of this year.
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