Adani's Ambuja to acquire 46.8% stake in Orient Cement

The Adani group’s Ambuja Cements on Tuesday announced its third acquisition of the ongoing financial year, with a binding agreement to acquire a 46.8% stake in the C K Birla family-owned Orient Cement Limited (OCL) for an equity value of Rs 810 billion. The deal, set to trigger an open offer, will push the Adani group’s cement capacity to 97.4 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) but still behind India’s largest producer, UltraTech Cement, which has a capacity of 150.7 mtpa. To meet market regulations, Ambuja Cements will make an open offer at Rs 395.40 per share to the public shareholders of OCL. The company, it said, plans to acquire 37.90 % from OCL’s promoters and another 8.90 % from other shareholders under the share purchase agreement. In addition, a further 26 % stake in the expanded share capital pursuant to the open offer. Orient Cement, in Tuesday's trade, closed at Rs 343.40 per share, down 2.5 percent.