The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of Swiss Cement major Holcim’s stake in Ambuja Cements Ltd and its subsidiary ACC Ltd by Endeavour Trade and Investments, an Adani Group company.
It may be recalled that Adani Group had in May this year entered into a $10.5 billion deal to acquire Holcim’s India cement business. Post the completion of all regulatory approvals for this acquisition, Adani Group will become India’s second biggest cement manufacturer.
Holcim through Holderind Investments Limited holds 63.11 per cent equity capital of Ambuja Cements Ltd and 4.48 per cent equity share capital of ACC Limited. Further, Ambuja holds 50.05 per cent of the paid-up equity share capital of ACC.
The proposed combination envisages the acquisition of the entire share capital of Holderind Investments by Endeavour Trade. Endeavour is a newly incorporated company and belongs to the Adani group. Holderind is a holding company of Ambuja and ACC. Ambuja and ACC are engaged in the manufacture of cement in India.
Under the SEBI takeover code, Endeavour is required to launch an open offer for further acquisition of up to 26 per cent of the expanded share capital of each of Ambuja and ACC.
IIFL Home Finance-ADIA Group Deal
Meanwhile, CCI has also approved the acquisition of a stake in IIFL Home Finance indirectly by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) Group. It may be recalled that ADIA’s subsidiary had in June this year picked a 20 per cent stake in IIFL Home Finance for consideration of ₹2,200 crore.
This would be one of the largest equity investments in the affordable housing finance segment in India by a financial investor.
ADIA is a public institution established as an independent investment institution by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. ADIA manages a global investment portfolio across multiple asset classes and sub-categories including developed equities, emerging market equities, small-cap equities, government bonds, credit, fixed income, real estate, infrastructure, private equity, cash, and alternatives.