UltraTech Cement eyes up Kesoram Industries

UltraTech Cement has reportedly expressed an interest in acquiring Kesoram Industries and is already carrying out due diligence on the company. According to CNBC, UltraTech is exploring two options: buying out the existing promoter or just acquiring the cement business of Kesoram. Kesoram currently operates in two markets, cement and rayon, with a cement production capacity of close to 10Mta across Karnataka and Telangana. 

Current shareholders in Kesoram Industries are the existing promoter (43.3 per cent), Pilani Investment Industries Corp Ltd (14.92 per cent) and Century Textiles and Industries Ltd (2.45 per cent). As reported on CNBC, Kesoram has run into problems due to its large debt of INR17,000-18,000m (US$204-216m) and a borrowing rate of 19 per cent. 

For UltraTech Cement, the addition of Kesoram would help raise the company's capacity, which currently stands at 132.5Mta but with an FY25-26 target of 182Mta.