Jaypee Group is in talks with Heidelberg Cement, the world?s third biggest cement maker, and JSW Cement, to form a joint venture which will control the majority of its cement plants as part of an ongoing exercise to reduce debt.
The plan envisages a separate joint venture entity which will house around 20-22 million tonne (mt) of Jaypee?s operational units spread across Uttar Pradesh, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and a new greenfield unit in Karnataka, which is expected to come on stream this year. Jaypee is open to becoming a junior partner in the proposed venture with a 49 per cent shareholding but may even go down to 40 per cent, thereby ceding management control and a majority stake.