(Read “Asia’s first fortune” ยง2)
May 15 (Reuters) – Adani has acquired a majority stake in the cement business of Swiss firm Holcim AG HOLN.S in India as part of a $10.5 billion deal to become the country’s second-largest cement producer , the Indian group announced on Sunday.
Gautam Adani’s conglomerate, Asia’s biggest fortune, has acquired 63.19% of Ambuja Cements Ltd. ABUJ.NS and its subsidiary ACC ACC.NS in the context of a call for tenders. Ambuja and ACC have a combined production capacity of at least 70 million tonnes of cement per year, second only to UltraTech Cement.
The Adani family, through an offshore special purpose entity, had entered into definitive agreements to acquire Holcim Ltd’s entire stake in Ambuja and ACC, the Adani Group said in a statement.
Holcim HOLN.S for its part said it has signed a binding agreement for Adani Group to acquire Holcim’s business in India, including its stake in Ambuja Cement – which holds a 50.05% stake in ACC – as well as its stake direct 4.48% in ACC. Holcim would receive nearly $6.4 billion.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2022, Holcim said.
The divestment is Holcim’s latest move to reduce its reliance on cement production, which emits high levels of carbon and therefore drives away many environmentally conscious investors.
(Report Mrinmay Dey, Rajendra Jadhav and Rupam Jain, French version Benjamin Mallet)