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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Jammu Division Begins First Cement Rail Traffic to Anantnag

Cement Loading From Kathua for Anantnag to Begin on September 14

Published

2 days ago

September 21, 2026

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Jammu Railway Division has placed an indent for the first movement of cement by rail within the division, linking Shaheed Captain Sunil Kumar Choudhary Kathua Railway Station with Anantnag Railway Station. Loading for the consignment is scheduled to begin on September 14.

Concrete

Hard Worker Wins Three Honours at Kyoorius Design Awards

Ramco Cements’ brand secures Grand Prix and two Blue Elephant honours.

Published

2 days ago

September 21, 2026

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The Ramco Cements Limited’s construction chemicals brand, Hard Worker, has won three honours at the Kyoorius Design Awards 2026, including the Grand Prix – Grey Elephant in the Design in Action category.

The brand also secured two Blue Elephant honours, one for Design in Action and another for Packaging, recognising the design approach behind its brand identity and packaging.

Launched in 2025, Hard Worker entered the construction chemicals segment with the brand promise, “Hard-working products for hardworking people.” Its visual identity uses animals and birds to represent product benefits. The camel represents the water-retention capability of Hard Worker Eco Plaster, while the cheetah represents the speed and performance of Hard Worker Block Fix.

The visual language has been extended across packaging, retail, communication, literature, digital platforms and other brand touchpoints. Hard Worker uses bold colours, distinctive animal illustrations and simple visual storytelling to communicate product benefits across markets and audiences, including construction workers and applicators.

“For Hard Worker, design was never an afterthought. It was fundamental to how we wanted to build the brand. In a category that is largely functional, we wanted to create a brand that people could recognise, understand and remember instantly. The Kyoorius recognition is a wonderful validation of this design-led approach,” said Mr. AV Dharmakrishnan, CEO, The Ramco Cements Limited.

Mr. Balaji K. Moorthy, Executive Director – Marketing, Ramco Cements said “In a category where communication has traditionally been product-led and functional, we wanted Hard Worker to stand apart by making design an integral part of the brand experience. From the distinctive animal-led packaging to our communication across consumer and trade touchpoints, every element was designed to make the brand more memorable and the product benefits easier to understand.”

Within its first 12 months, Hard Worker crossed Rs 3.5 bn in sales. The latest recognition follows six honours secured by the brand’s campaign at the Kyoorius Creative Awards earlier in 2026, including the Grey Elephant Grand Prix for its Eco Plaster film.

The Kyoorius Design Awards recognise outstanding design work in India’s visual communications sector across multiple categories and platforms. The 2026 awards were announced on 12 September in Goa.

The Ramco Cements Limited is part of the Ramco Group and operates across cement and allied building-material solutions. Hard Worker is its construction chemicals brand, offering solutions across key construction applications.

Concrete

Cement Firms to Invest Rs. 130 bn in Green Energy by FY28

Cement companies plan to expand clean energy capacity to 6 GW by FY28

Published

6 days ago

September 17, 2026

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India’s major cement companies are set to raise their clean energy capacity to 6 GW by March 2028 from around 4 GW at the end of March 2026, according to ratings agency ICRA. The planned expansion is expected to involve investments of Rs. 130 bn over the next two years.

The additional capacity could generate annual savings of Rs. 62 bn to Rs. 67 bn, resulting in an estimated payback period of 1.8 to 2.2 years. Cement is an emission-intensive industry, and leading producers have established net-zero roadmaps covering the next 15 to 20 years.

The calcination process accounts for 57 to 60 per cent of the sector’s total emissions, while fuel combustion contributes 27 to 30 per cent and electricity consumption accounts for 10 to 13 per cent. ICRA said the figures highlighted the need for a broad decarbonisation strategy involving green power, blended cement, alternative fuels and improvements in clinker efficiency.

Green energy is considered one of the most commercially attractive decarbonisation options because it can reduce emissions while lowering operating costs. Every 5 per cent increase in green power replacement can reduce power and fuel costs by Rs. 15 to Rs. 16 per tonne. A 25 per cent replacement level could therefore save Rs. 75 to Rs. 80 per tonne and expand operating margins by 140 to 160 basis points.

Cement producers are also assessing carbon capture, utilisation and storage, although high implementation costs, energy requirements and limited transport and storage infrastructure are expected to slow commercial adoption. The government has proposed Rs. 200 bn over five years to support deployment across key sectors. Meanwhile, companies are targeting thermal substitution rates of 10 to 15 per cent over the next three to five years, compared with the current industry level of around 6 per cent.