(This March 4 story has been corrected to clarify that Ambuja Cements is buying Orient Cement, not India Cements, in paragraph 1)
(Reuters) – India’s antitrust watchdog, approved Ambuja Cements’ acquisition of Orient Cement on Tuesday, months after the Adani Group company first announced the deal.
Ambuja Cements, India’s second-largest cement maker, in October revealed plans to buy stake worth $451 million in Orient Cement, intensifying competition with industry leader UltraTech Cement.
Competition in the Indian cement sector has heated up recently, with UltraTech and the Adani Group companies striking a slew of deals to acquire smaller firms and expand their market share.
Analysts had doubted Ambuja’s deal would win regulatory approval, considering recent acquisitions that have led to industry oversupply. Ambuja’s shares fell 2.3% on October 22 when the deal was first announced.
Since October 22, Ambuja Cements’ shares have dropped about 15%, while Orient Cements’ shares have fallen nearly 5%.
In recent years, Ambuja has acquired smaller rivals Sanghi Industries and Penna Cement.
(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
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