UltraTech board approves deal to snare control of India Cement

India Cements

28/07/2024 09:10

NEW DELHI, July 28 (Reuters) - UltraTech Cement
 ULTC.NS , India's No.1 cement maker, said its board on Sunday
approved a $472 million deal to gain control of India Cements
 ICMN.NS , which will bolster its position in the country's
southern states.
        The deal comes as the country's top cement makers vie to
dominate a market that is expected to roughly double to $49
billion by 2029 from 2022 levels with an expected infrastructure
spending boom under the government of Narendra Modi.
        Ultratech, part of India's Aditya Birla group will buy a
32.72% stake in India Cements from its promoters and their
associates, adding to a 23% stake that it bought in June.
    After the June stake sale, the promoters of India Cements
offered to sell their holding to the Birla group company,
UltraTech said in a statement.
    UltraTech will pay 39.54 billion rupees ($472.38 million) at
390 rupees per share for the 32.72% stake in India Cements, the
statement said. 
    The acquisition will also trigger the so-called open offer
requirement that allows Ultratech to buy more shares from public
shareholders at the same price, which was a 4.3% premium to
India Cement's last close.
        
($1 = 83.70 rupees)

 (Reporting by Neha Arora and Sethuraman NR; Editing by Sonali
Paul)
 ((mayank.bhardwaj@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter:
@MayankBhardwaj9;))