Adani Group Now The 2nd Largest Cement Player As Acquisition Of Ambuja Cements, ACC Completes

In a statement, Swiss-based Holcim announced that the Group has closed the sale of its business in India to the Adani Group, comprising its full stakes in Ambuja Cements at a share price of ₹385 and in ACC at a share price of ₹2,300, resulting in cash proceeds of $6.4 billion for Holcim.

Holcim sold its entire 63.11% stake in Ambuja Cements, which owns a 50.05% interest in ACC, as well as its 4.48% direct stake in ACC.

This transaction strengthens Holcim’s balance sheet and enables the company to continue its acquisition strategy, building on recent investments of over CHF 5 billion in Solutions & Products, the statement said.

Jan Jenisch, Holcim CEO said, “I would like to thank our 10,700 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 convinced that the Adani Group is the right home for them as well as for our customers to continue to thrive in the future.

The Holcim-Adani deal was completed by way of the transfer of 100% shareholding of Holderind Investments to Endeavour Trade and Investment in both Ambuja and ACC.

Endeavour Trade and Investment belongs to Adani Group, while the Mauritius-based Holderind is the holding company of Holcim.

Jenisch added, "This divestment is another step in our transformation to become the global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions, strengthening our balance sheet and giving us the firepower to continue our acquisition strategy."

The Ambuja and ACC acquisition makes this the largest ever acquisition by Adani, and India’s largest ever M&A transaction in the infrastructure and materials space.

Both Ambuja and ACC shares nosedived today. However, earlier in the day, Ambuja shares clocked a new 52-week high of ₹550.15 before correcting.

On BSE, Ambuja shares closed at ₹516.30 apiece down by 4.19%. The company's market cap is around ₹1,02,518.86 crore.

ACC shares shares dropped by 4.90% to end at ₹2614.80 apiece. The company's market valuation is at ₹49,102.61 crore.

In terms of market share, through the acquisition of Ambuja Cements and ACC, Adani Group holds a market valuation of ₹1,51,621.47 crore in the sector – making it the second largest cement player. Currently, Ultratech Cement is the largest player with a market valuation of over ₹1.87 lakh crore.

Speculations are that Gautam Adani's elder son Karan Adani will oversee the family’s scaled-up cement business.

Post-change in management, ACC announced that the board of directors approved the extension of the current financial year till 31st March 2023 and change in the financial year of the Company from 1st January – 31st December every year to 1st April – 31st March every year.

Also, on Friday, as per the regulatory filing, Ambuja received the board of directors' approval for issuing nearly 47.75 crore warrants each convertible into, or exchangeable for -- 1 fully paid-up equity share having a face value of ₹2 each -- to Harmonia Trade and Investment on a preferential basis.