India: Birla eyes September completion of Reliance acquisition

Birla Corporation has said that it expects to complete its acquisition of Reliance Cement by September, Gulf Today reports. The US$711m deal was initially struck in February 2016 and will raise Birla’s cement capacity from 10Mta to 15.5Mta, as well as securing access to mineral concessions.

A group of Birla shareholders took the company to court in an effort to block the deal, but this was rejected by the Kolkata High Court in May.

Birla Corporation chairman Harsh V Lodha said: “The acquisition is under implementation. It is subject to the approval of regulatory authorities. We are in a process of addressing these. We hope the acquisition should be through by September.”