UltraTech Cement is acquiring a 32.72 per cent share in India Cements, marking an investment of INR39,540m (US$472.2m). According to The Hindu, the move enables Aditya Birla-owned UltraTech to expand its presence in the fast-growing southern India market, particularly Tamil Nadu.
UltraTech has reportedly entered into a share purchase agreement for a 28.42 per cent stake from promoters – N Srinivasan, Chitra Srinivasan, Rupa Gurunath and S K Asokh Baalaje — and a 4.3 per cent share from Sri Saradha Logistics. Following the deal, UltraTech’s stake in India Cements will exceed 55 per cent. UltraTech has also announced a further offer to acquire an additional 26 per cent stake in India Cements for INR31,423m.
This news comes hot on the heels of UltraTech’s recent acquisition of Penna Cement, adding 14Mta of capacity and boosting UltraTech’s total capacity to 93Mta. These latest deals with India Cements form part of UltraTech’s ambition to become one of the largest cement companies in the world with a target cement production capacity of 200Mta.
