Adani to buy Holcim’s stake in Ambuja, ACC for $10.5 bn
It is India's largest-ever M&A transaction in the infrastructure and materials space
NEW DELHI: Asia's richest man Gautam Adani's group on Sunday said it has clinched a deal to acquire a controlling stake in Holcim Ltd's businesses in India for $10.5 billion, marking the ports-to-energy conglomerate's entry into the cement sector.
The Adani Group will acquire 63.1 per cent of Ambuja Cements Ltd along with related assets. Ambuja's local subsidiaries include ACC Ltd, which is also publicly traded.
"The Adani Family, through an offshore special purpose vehicle, announced that it had entered into definitive agreements for the acquisition of Switzerland-based Holcim Ltd's entire stake in two of India's leading cement companies - Ambuja Cements Ltd and ACC Ltd," the group said in a statement.
Holcim, through its subsidiaries, holds 63.19 per cent in Ambuja Cements and 54.53 per cent in ACC (of which 50.05 per cent is held through Ambuja Cements).
"The value for the Holcim stake and open offer consideration for Ambuja Cements and ACC is $10.5 billion, which makes this the largestever acquisition by Adani, and India's largest-ever M&A transaction in the infrastructure and materials space," the statement said.
Holcim in a statement said, "The corresponding offer share prices of Rs 385 for Ambuja Cement and Rs 2,300 for ACC translate into cash proceeds of CHF 6.4 billion (Swiss Franc) for Holcim."
Holcim, which had entered the market 17 years ago, holds a 63.19 per cent stake in Ambuja and a 4.48 per cent in ACC while Ambuja owns a 50.05 per cent stake in ACC.
ACC has 17 cement manufacturing units, 9 captive power plants and 6,643 employees along with a distribution network of 56,000 dealers & retailers and a countrywide.
Ambuja Cements has a cement capacity of 31 million tonnes with 6 integrated cement manufacturing plants and 8 cement grinding units across the country.
Ambuja Cements and ACC currently have a combined installed production capacity of 70 million tonnes per annum. The two companies together have 23 cement plants, 14 grinding stations, 80 ready-mix concrete plants and over 50,000 channel partners across India.