Aditya Birla Group-owned UltraTech Cement board has approved the purchase of a 32.72% stake in India Cements from its promoters and their associates in a meeting today (July 28).
This would make India’s largest cement maker, UltraTech Cement the majority shareholder in the south-based cement manufacturer with a holding of 55% of the total shares.
UltraTech Cements made a financial investment in India Cements to acquire 22.77 per cent equity at a price of ₹268 per share in June 2024.
The Aditya Birla Group-owned cement entity said after signing the share purchase agreements and obtaining regulatory approvals, UltraTech will pay Rs 3,954 crore at Rs 390 per share for buying a 32.72% stake in India Cements. It added that the share purchase will trigger a mandatory open offer at the same price of Rs 390 per share.
The price offered by UltraTech is 4.1 per cent higher than the ICL shares’ closing price of ₹374.60 last Friday. If fully subscribed, the open offer would cost ₹3,142.35 crore to UltraTech.
India Cements has a total capacity of 14.45 mtpa of grey cement. Of this, 12.95 mtpa is in the South (particularly Tamil Nadu) and 1.5 mtpa is in Rajasthan.
As per MoneyControl, Ultratech Cement has entered into a share purchase agreement, SPA 2, to acquire 1.99 crore equity shares, representing 6.44% of the equity share capital, from Rupa Gurunath, Trustee of Security Services Trust, and Rupa Gurunath, Trustee of Financial Service Trust, both members of the promoter group. This acquisition is valued at ₹778.21 crore.
Ultratech Cement will acquire 1,33,16,783 equity shares, representing 4.30% of the equity share capital, from Sri Saradha Logistics Private Limited. This transaction is valued at ₹519.35 crore.
Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group, said, “UltraTech Cement’s investments over the years, both organic and inorganic, have been designed to propel India to become a building solutions champion globally. Every investment in a core sector like cement accelerates economic activity and drives progress. These investments have also facilitated India’s nationwide infrastructure upgrade, powering our country’s growing need for housing, roads, and other vital infrastructure. This, in turn, has had tremendous impact on the lives and aspirations of people.”
He added, “The India Cements opportunity is an exciting one as it enables UltraTech to serve the Southern markets more effectively and also accelerates our path to 200+ MTPA capacity.”
