Ambuja Cements, ACC up for sale?

Ambuja Cements and ACC could be on a sale as the Swiss-based parent company Holcim Group, which is also the biggest cement maker in the world, may soon exit India.

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As per reports, Holcim Group is looking to exit India after 17 years as it has been selling off non-core assets to reduce debt and diversify through acquisitions. It divested its Brazilian unit for $1 billion in September and is also planning to sell its business in Zimbabwe.

In what could potentially be the largest M&A deal in India, the combined market capitalisation of the two cement companies is Rs 1.14 lakh crore ($15 billion) with Ambuja alone being at Rs 73,349 crore ($9.7 billion).

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Holcim owns 63.1% of Ambuja Cements. Ambuja Cement in turn owns 50.05% of ACC Ltd. Holcim owns another 4.48% of ACC directly.

As per Economic Times, Holcim is believed to have held early-stage negotiations with JSW and Adani Group, among others, to explore their interest levels. Both are recent entrants in the cement sector but have aggressive plans to ramp up.