Concrete

Adani bags Holcim’s stakes in India

Published

4 years ago

June 13, 2022

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In what is being touted as the largest acquisition bid in India’s infra and materials space valued, the race to acquire Holcim’s stake in Ambuja Cements and ACC has culminated in the Adani Group bagging the deal at $10.5 billion, and securing the position of India’s second largest cement manufacturer with a capacity of 70 MTPA.

As soon as Holcim announced its exit from the Indian market, as expected, a fierce bidding war took place to acquire their assets. JSW Cement and Ultratech Cement, backed by Sajjan Jindal and the Aditya Birla Group participated in the bidding process for these assets. However, these shares were finally bought by the Adani Group for $10.5 Billion, which gave them a controlling stake in both of these companies. The total value of the acquisition, $10.5 billion, makes this the largest acquisition by Adani, and India’s largest M&A transaction in the infrastructure and materials space. The deal was carried out through an offshore special purpose vehicle by the
Adani Group.

Fact file

Ambuja Cements docked a revenue of Rs 26,646 crores with a market share of 6.2 per cent, while ACC’s revenue was Rs 15,398 crores with a market share of 6 per cent.
The two companies together have 23 cement plants, 14 grinding stations, 80 ready-mix concrete plants and over 50,000 channel partners across the country.
Holcim, a Swiss multinational company, used to hold 63.19 per cent in Ambuja Cements and 54.53 per cent in ACC (of which 50.05 per cent is held through Ambuja Cements), through
its subsidiaries.
The Holcim Group has assets in over 90 countries. The Holcim Group had recently been looking to sell out its non-core assets, and for the same purpose, had divested its Brazilian unit for $1 billion in September 2021.

As of now, the objective of the Adani Group is to move beyond its core business of power plants, ports, and coal mine operations and expand into new fields such as airports, data centres, and digital services. Gaining its foot in the door in the cement industry is, no doubt, a part of that plan. Through this acquisition, Adani Cement, which had never been a player in the cement industry in the past, has suddenly become the second-largest cement producer in India.
Commenting about the acquisition, Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group said in an official release, “Our move into the cement business is yet another validation of our belief in our nation’s growth story. Not only is India expected to remain one of the world’s largest demand-driven economies for several decades, India also continues to be the world’s second largest cement market and yet has less than half of the global average per capita cement consumption. In statistical comparison, China’s cement consumption is over 7x that of India’s. When these factors are combined with the several adjacencies of our existing businesses that include the Adani Group’s ports and logistics business, energy business, and real estate business, we believe that we will be able to build a uniquely integrated and differentiated business model and set ourselves up for significant capacity expansion.”
It is worth noting that India’s per capita cement consumption is 242 kg, while the global average is 525 kg. This is to be expected as India is still a developing country and there is a lot of scope for infrastructural development. However, it is going to take a lot of effort to tap into this market as even a growing middle class will only be able to generate additional demand in this sector at the rate of its own growth. The Covid-19 pandemic had also slowed things down a lot within the last two years. Almost all infrastructural development projects, public and private alike, were halted because of the restrictions imposed by the government. However, that is also changing now, and as restrictions are being relaxed, infrastructural projects are picking up their pace again.
All of these above aspects point towards opportunities for tremendous growth in the cement sector. However, the unique aspect that makes the Adani Group’s jump into the cement sector is that the cement business will be complementary to the Adani Group’s already existing businesses. “…several adjacencies of our existing businesses that include the Adani Group’s ports and logistics business, energy business, and real estate business, we believe that we will be able to build a uniquely integrated and differentiated business model and set ourselves up for significant capacity expansion,” said Adani.
As with the rest of the Adani portfolio, the cement business will be aligned to the UN Sustainability Development Goals with clear focus on SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG 13 (Climate Action), said the statement.

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Cement Makers’ Margins To Fall Rs 50-75 Per Tonne Amid West Asia Conflict

Crisil Sees Margins Easing Despite Steady Demand

Published

1 week ago

July 29, 2026

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Crisil said operating margins of Indian cement manufacturers are expected to decline by Rs 50-75 per tonne (t) this fiscal to Rs 925-950 per t due to higher input costs triggered by the West Asia conflict. The analysis covered 18 cement companies accounting for nearly 90 per cent of India’s domestic cement capacity and noted margins had improved sharply to around Rs 1,000 per t in fiscal 2026.

Crisil noted that the reduction would be driven mainly by higher power and fuel costs, which account for about 30 per cent of total costs, as petcoke and imported coal prices have surged amid geopolitical uncertainties. Freight costs, which account for about a quarter of total costs, are also expected to remain elevated because of higher diesel prices. The impact on profitability is likely to be more pronounced in the first half of the fiscal year before easing commodity prices moderate cost pressures later.

The rating agency said steady domestic demand and strong balance sheets should keep credit profiles stable despite the moderation in margins. Green energy currently accounts for 35-40 per cent of the sector’s total electricity consumption and is expected to partly cushion higher energy costs. Operating cash flows are likely to remain resilient, supported by projected 6-7 per cent growth in cement demand this fiscal.

Crisil highlighted that demand growth will be driven primarily by infrastructure spending, which meets about one-third of sector consumption, and by a nearly 18 per cent higher budgetary allocation for core ministries that should support project execution. Weaker rural housing demand amid pressure on agricultural incomes from a possible below-average monsoon may be offset by improved urban housing demand supported by favourable home-loan rates and a strong pipeline of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban projects. Ongoing capacity additions will keep capital expenditure elevated and may lift net debt to EBITDA to between 1.2 and 1.4 times from around 1.0 time last fiscal, though ratios are expected to remain healthy.

Concrete

UltraTech Board Approves Rs 50 bn Fundraise Via NCDs

Company to issue half a million debentures for expansion plan

Published

1 week ago

July 28, 2026

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UltraTech Cement’s board of directors has approved raising Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 bn) through non?convertible debentures issued in rupees.

The finance committee cleared a proposal to issue up to 500,000 fully paid, unsecured, listed, rated, redeemable, rupee?denominated, non?convertible, non?cumulative debentures of Rs 1 lakh each (Rs 0.1 mn each), aggregating to the Rs 5,000 crore programme.

As of June 2026 the firm reported net debt of Rs 15,875 crore (Rs 158.75 bn) and said its capacity expansion projects under execution are backed by capital expenditure of about Rs 17,000 crore (Rs 170 bn) over the next two to two?and?a?half years.

UltraTech spent Rs 9,500 crore (Rs 95 bn) on capital expenditure in financial year 2026 and in April the group crossed 200.1 mn tonnes per annum of domestic grey cement capacity and 205.5 mn tonnes per annum of global capacity.

The chief financial officer indicated the company would take consolidated capacity beyond 242 mn tonnes per annum, with grey cement capacity reaching 212.7 mn tonnes per annum by the end of financial year 2027. He noted the net debt?to?earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation ratio stood at 0.87 times as of June 2026 and the company was confident of ending financial year 2027 with the ratio below one time.

In the first quarter of financial year 2026?27 UltraTech’s net profit attributable to owners rose 16.8 per cent year?on?year to Rs 2,599.3 crore (Rs 25.993 bn) and revenue from operations increased 15.9 per cent to Rs 24,648.20 crore (Rs 246.482 bn). The board approval is expected to complement internal cash flows as the company advances its expansion programme.

Concrete

Lokesh Lays Stone For Rs 31 Billion Cement Unit In Kadapa

Line-2 expansion to make Kadapa a major cement hub

Published

2 weeks ago

July 20, 2026

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Andhra Pradesh Education and IT Minister Nara Lokesh on Wednesday laid the foundation stone for the Line-2 expansion of Dalmia Bharat Cement at Chinnakomerla village in Mylavaram Mandal in Kadapa district. The project carries an investment of Rs 31 billion (bn) and is slated for completion by the third quarter of the financial year 2028. The expansion is intended to boost industrial growth and employment generation across the Rayalaseema region.

Once commissioned, the Kadapa facility will become Dalmia Bharat’s largest integrated cement manufacturing ecosystem in southern India, creating over 1,000 direct and indirect jobs and opening new business avenues for regional micro, small and medium enterprises and transport operators. Lokesh said the expansion signalled growing corporate confidence in the state and reflected the practical ease of doing business that secured repeat investment.

He placed the project within the government’s wider economic targets and recalled the Yuvagalam padayatra commitment to generate two million (mn) jobs within five years, noting that the state would cultivate talent while industry created opportunities. Lokesh highlighted Andhra Pradesh’s competitive pursuit of major manufacturing accounts, mentioning past successes and a personal initiative to engage global investors when persuading them to anchor expansion in the state.

The plant will leverage Kadapa’s abundant limestone reserves to scale production and sustainability. Clinker capacity is planned to rise from two point five million tonnes per annum (mn tpa) to six point one mn tpa, while overall cement output will increase from three point six mn tpa to nine point six mn tpa. The unit is designed to operate on over eighty per cent renewable energy and deploy waste heat recovery, zero liquid discharge, water recycling and advanced AI systems to optimise efficiency. Industries Minister TG Bharat, BC Welfare Minister S. Savitha and Jammalamadugu MLA C. Adinarayana Reddy attended the ceremony.