NEW DELHI (Reuters) – UltraTech Cement, India’s No.1 cement maker, said its board on Sunday approved a $472 million deal to gain control of India Cements, which will bolster its position in the country’s southern states.
The deal comes as the country’s top cement makers vie to dominate a market that is expected to roughly double to $49 billion by 2029 from 2022 levels with an expected infrastructure spending boom under the government of Narendra Modi.
Ultratech, part of India’s Aditya Birla group will buy a 32.72% stake in India Cements from its promoters and their associates, adding to a 23% stake that it bought in June.
After the June stake sale, the promoters of India Cements offered to sell their holding to the Birla group company, UltraTech said in a statement.
UltraTech will pay 39.54 billion rupees ($472.38 million) at 390 rupees per share for the 32.72% stake in India Cements, the statement said.
The acquisition will also trigger the so-called open offer requirement that allows Ultratech to buy more shares from public shareholders at the same price, which was a 4.3% premium to India Cement’s last close.
($1 = 83.70 rupees)
(Reporting by Neha Arora and Sethuraman NR; Editing by Sonali Paul)
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