Ten bidders chase LafargeHolcim Indian assets

The sale of LafargeHolcim's Indian operations has attracted considerable interest, with the company having received bids from 10 groups interested in buying the assets.

According to India's Economic Times, JSW Cement, Blackstone and Ramco Cements have all submitted bids, while the Irish Times notes that CRH, Piramal Group and Carlyle Group are also in the running.

LafargeHolcim is selling three integrated plants and two grinding plants with a combined capacity of 11Mta, valued at around US$1.5bn. 

The Irish Times reports that CRH is seen as unlikely to pursue its bid aggressively as the company is currently looking to reduce its debt burden. This has risen to US$7.4bn, partly due to CRH’s purchase of other LafargeHolcim assets in Europe, the US, Canada, Brazil and the Philippines.

LafargeHolcim had previously sought to sell 5.1Mta of Indian assets to Birla Corporation, but this was cancelled in February 2016 due to legal complications over the transfer of mining rights. At the time, Birla threatened to take legal action against LafargeHolcim, but has so far not acted on this.