Jaiprakash reportedly in talks to sell Bhilai unit to UltraTech

Jaypee Group company Jaiprakash Associates is in talks with UltraTech Cement to sell its 2.2Mta cement plant in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh state, Business Standard report suggests.

The Bhilai plant is a joint venture between Jaypee Group (74 per cent stake) and public sector Steel Authority of India (26 per cent). Sources say Ultratech will pay around INR2000 crore in a deal that would lift the company's overall capacity to 67Mta. When asked to comment by Business Standard, a Jaypee Group spokesperson deemed the deal talks as “speculative”.

Should the deal come to fruition, it would be the third plant UltraTech would be buying from the Jaypee Group over the last two years. In 2013, UltraTech acquired Jaypee’s 4.8Mta plant in the western Indian state of Gujarat. Earlier this week, Jaiprakash confirmed it had received shareholder approval to sell two cement units in Madhya Pradesh to India's largest cement producer.