Spurned by Lafarge, Birla Corp has acquired Reliance Infrastructure’s cement unit for ₹4,800 crore. The MP Birla Group company will buy 100 per cent stake in Reliance Cement Company Private Limited (RCCPL), which has an integrated cement capacity of 5.08 mtpa at Maihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Kundanganj, Uttar Pradesh, and a grinding unit of 0.5 mtpa at Butibori, Maharashtra.
Harsh Lodha, Chairman of Birla Corp, said: “Reliance Cement fits within our plans to grow profitably and provides an excellent platform for increasing our footprint in existing as well as new geographies.”
SBI Capital Markets Limited acted as the financial advisors to R Infra for this transaction.
On November 5, Reliance Infra said in a regulatory filing that it had shortlisted seven out of 15 potential bidders which had submitted expressions of interest for its cement business. It did not disclose the names of the bidders.
The cement industry is going through a consolidation with some manufacturers unable to sustain business owing to a poor pick-up in demand. In April, Shree Cement completed the acquisition of a cement grinding unit of Jaiprakash Associates for ₹358.22 crore.
Earlier, Lafarge India had terminated its deal with Birla Corporation to sell its 5.15 mtpa cement business for ₹5,000 crore following regulatory hurdles.
On the BSE, Birla Corp’s shares ended the day up 3.58 per cent at ₹394.60.