Holcim sells Indian unit to billionaire Gautam Adani on $ 10 billion deal

Bloomberg – Holcim has agreed to sell its Indian operations to local billionaire Gautam Adani.

The Swiss company will sell a 63.1% stake in Mumbai-based Ambuja Cements Ltd to Adani Group, it said in a statement on Sunday.

Adani will reportedly acquire a majority stake in Ambuja, another public sector cement maker, ACC Ltd, and buy a 4.5% stake in Holcim directly.

Adani Ambuja Cements pays INR $ 385 per share, a premium of 7.2% on Friday’s closing price, and pays ACC ANR2,300 per share. The report said CHF expects to receive $ 6.4 billion Swiss francs ($ 6.4 billion) from Holcim’s sales.

Janish, who joined Holcim from Sika AG in 2017, sells major non-cement businesses and buys construction startups to take advantage of the growing demand for energy efficient buildings. As part of the strategy, it acquired Malarkey Roofing products in December and Firestone Building products in early 2021.

Zuc, based in Switzerland, has recently sold key assets to finance acquisitions and reduce debt, exempting its Brazilian unit for $ 1bn in September and Asian businesses such as Holcim Indonesia in 2019.

Janish, a 55-year-old German, has been cleaning up the company since 2015 after a tumultuous mega merger between Holcim and France’s Lauberge SA.

Sales of Holcim’s Indian business subject to local regulatory approvals are expected to close in the second half of 2022.

According to Adani, the deal marks Asia’s richest man’s foothold in the subcontinent’s fragmented cement industry.

His team outperformed other local companies, including the JSW Group, who were well versed in the subject. Bloomberg News previously reported that the Adani Group was in advanced talks with Holcim.

Business portfolio expansion

The Adani Group has moved beyond its core business of operating ports, power plants and coal mines to areas such as data centers, airports, digital services, retail and media.

Asia’s richest man is said to be looking for Indian media assets

Quadam Adani, a first-generation entrepreneur with a net worth of about $ 100 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, is looking to transform into a company in a number of sectors, including Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited.

Adani overtook Ambani to become the richest man in Asia. Earlier this year.

The deal for Ambuja will transform the Adani Group into a major player in the cement sector. Founded in 1983, Ambuja has a capacity of 31 million metric tons of cement and has six integrated manufacturing plants and eight cement grinding units in India, according to its website.

Adani Enterprises Limited, the parent company of Adani Group, has two cement subsidiaries. Adani Cement Ltd plans to build an integrated facility in Gujarat, according to a November compliance report. The group was formed in June 2021 by Adani Cement Limited.

Deutsche Bank AG advised the Adani Group on the deal.

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