LafargeHolcim receives revised divestment order from India

LafargeHolcim has received a revised order from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to divest its interest in Lafarge India, including three cement plants and two grinding stations with total capacity of 11Mta.

"The proposed transaction is an alternate remedy for the merger of the group's legacy companies and now forms part of the company's CHF3.5bn (US$3.54bn) divestment target in 2016," LafargeHolcim said in a statement.

Last week the building materials giant said it was reviewing its divestment plan in India after talks with Birla Corporation or the sale of the Jojobera and Sonadih cement plants in eastern India fell through.

"We will operate in India through our subsidiaries ACC Ltd and Ambuja Cements Ltd with a combined cement capacity of around 63Mt and a distribution network that extends across the entire country," Chief Executive, Eric Olsen, said.

Birla Corp has said it plans to take legal action against the Indian unit of LafargeHolcim after the latter conveyed its inability to proceed with the agreement to sell two of its eastern Indian cement plants.

LafargeHolcim cited regulatory issues relating to the transfer of mining rights needed by the two plants as the reason why it had to submit an alternative option to the CCI to ensure compliance with an original order it had received in April 2015.