Private equity firm Baring Asia is said to be in advanced talks with Lafarge India to invest about US$240m for a minority stake, according to reports by Reuters.

The deal is likely to be announced soon, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters. Lafarge is raising capacity of its Indian arm to fund the expansion, according to one of the sources. Local press say that the stake could be around 14-15 per cent worth US$261m.

Lafarge currently has four cement plants in India: two plants in the state of Chhattisgarh and grinding units in Jharkhand and West Bengal with a combined cement capacity of 7.75Mta.