Adani Group’s Ambuja Cements stock surges on Penna Cement acquisition

Shares of Ambuja Cements hit a new high on Friday’s trade following the acquisition of Penna Cement.

The Adani Group company on June 13 announced the signing of a binding agreement for the acquisition of Penna Cement Industries Ltd (PCIL) at ₹10,422 crore.

According to the stock exchange filing, Ambuja will acquire 100 per cent shares of PCIL from its existing promoter group, P Pratap Reddy and family. The acquisition will be fully funded through internal accruals.

The acquisition has attracted mixed reactions from brokerages, including global. Nuvama Institutional Equities stands with Ambuja Cements for its healthy capex plans and measures to lift cost efficiency. The brokerage has maintained ‘buy’ call on the stock with a target price of ₹767 on FY26E EV/EBITDA of 18x.

Analysts of Emkay Global have retained their ‘buy’ call on the stock and Mar-25E target price at ₹700 per share, based on implied consolidated EV/E of 17x. Regarding Penna acquisition, they said, “The deal is pegged at a favorable valuation of $89/t, which may decline to $79/t with potential grinding capacity addition of 3mt.”

The analysts added that they have not incorporated the acquisition into financials yet. However, they maintained their preference for Ambuja, given its strong growth/capex plans, pan-India presence, and robust balance sheet (cash and investments worth ₹24,300 crore as of Apr-24).

Global brokerage Jefferies has also given ‘buy rating on the stock. On the other hand, UBS and CLSA have given ‘sell’ call, while Citi and Macquarie have expressed a neutral stance. 

• Track live updates on Ambuja Cements stock price

Domestic brokerage Motilal Oswal has maintained neutral rating with a target price of ₹640, based on 16x FY26E EV/EBITDA. The brokerage observed that the company is focusing on further cost reduction by increasing the share of green power and AFR, engaging in long-term procurement strategies for critical raw materials, and optimising logistics. “A successful execution of these plans could result in a positive surprise,” it added.

Tushar Chaudhari, Research Analyst of Prabhudas Lilladher stated, “With acquisition of PCIL, Ambuja Cements would ramp up ailing PCIL capacity similar to recently acquired Sanghi assets. With strong balance sheet and remarkable execution speed, we believe Ambuja Cements’ consolidated performance would improve substantially going forward.” The brokerage has maintained ‘accumulate’ rating on the stock.

In early trade on Friday, the stock rose nearly 3 per cent to hit a new high on the NSE at ₹689. On the BSE, the stock hit a 52-week high at ₹690.

As of 9.59 am, the stock traded at ₹677.20 on the NSE, higher by 2.22 per cent.

Shares traded at ₹677.50 on the BSE, up by 1.99 per cent as of 10.10 am.

• Also read: Cement stocks firm, but analysts see subdued demand in near term