The The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has cleared the proposed merger of French cement maker Lafarge and Holcim, which will create the world?s largest cement company by manufacturing capacity and sales.
The CCI has instructed that both the firms will have to divest two cement plants to address monopoly concerns. CCI has decided that a divestiture of Lafarge?s Jojobera plant in Jharkhand and the company?s integrated unit at Sonadih in Chhattisgarh will be most effective in eliminating the concerns.
The total cement manufacturing capacity of Holcim and Lafarge in India was about 67 million tonne (mtpa) in 2013-14. The total installed capacity in the country is 350 mtpa. The divestment will cut down around 5 mtpa from the combined capacity of both Holcim and Lafarge. CCI will also appoint a monitoring agency to oversee compliance to the conditions put forth by it to ensure that the merger does not hit competition.