Gautam Adani-owned Adani Group announced to enter 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.

Gautam Adani-owned Adani Group, on Sunday, announced a deal to acquire Holcim's businesses in India for $10.5 billion. The group revealed 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.

Gautam Adani, Chairman, Adani Group, in a tweet said, “Our belief in the India story is unshakeable. Combining @Holcim's cement assets in India with our green energy and logistics will make us the world's greenest cement company. Jan Jenisch has been terrific to work with. We welcome the @AmbujaCementACL & @ACCLimited teams.”

Holcim, through its subsidiaries, holds 63.19% in Ambuja Cements and 54.53% in ACC (of which 50.05% is held through Ambuja Cements). The value for the Holcim stake and open offer consideration for Ambuja Cements and ACC is USD ~10.5 billion.

Adani, in a statement, said, “Our move into the cement business is yet another validation of our belief in our nation's growth story.” This deal would make Gautam Adani's conglomerate the second-largest player in the domestic cement sector. Adani Group, which is already a ports-to-energy conglomerate, with this deal will also enter the cement sector.

"Not only is India expected to remain one of the world's largest demand-driven economies for several decades, India also continues to be the world's second largest cement market and yet has less than half of the global average per capita cement consumption. In statistical comparison, China’s cement consumption is over 7x that of India’s. When these factors are combined with the several adjacencies of our existing businesses that include the Adani Group's ports and logistics business, energy business, and real estate business, we believe that we will be able to build a uniquely integrated and differentiated business model and set ourselves up for significant capacity expansion,” he added.

Jan Jenisch, CEO of Holcim Limited, said, “I am delighted that the Adani Group is acquiring our business in India to lead its next era of growth.”

Adani Group, in the last couple of years, has diversified its portfolio beyond the core business of operating ports, power plants and coal mines into airports, data centres and clean energy.

“Mr Gautam Adani is a highly recognized business leader in India who shares our deep commitment to sustainability, people and communities. I would like to thank our 10,000 Indian colleagues who have played an essential role in the development of our business over the years with their relentless dedication and expertise. I am confident that the Adani Group is the perfect home for them as well as our customers to continue to thrive,” Jenisch further added.

Last year, Asia's richest man Gautam Adani's group has also set up two cement subsidiaries - Adani Cement Ltd. and Adani Cementation Ltd., intending to set up two cement units at Gujarat’s Dahej and Maharashtra’s Raigarh.

-BusinessToday.in