The cement industry is on a consolidation spree With two new purchases. While India Cements has announced the sale of its Madhya Pradesh plant to Parth Jindal’s unlisted JSW Cement for Rs.477 crores, the Adani Group is on the verge of acquiring the cement asset that Jaiprakash Associates has placed up for sale in order to escape insolvency proceedings.
The Adani Group, which acquired ACC and UltraTech from Holcim last month, is projected to pay over Rs.4,800 crore for the 2 million tonnes (mt) per annum JP grinding machine, also in M.P. According to insiders, the transaction is scheduled to close this week.
On Monday, India Cements announced that it had signed a Share Purchase Agreement with JSW Cement to sell its full interest in Spring way Mining for Rs.477 crore. Springway Mining ceased to be India Cements’ whollyowned subsidiary. India Cements, which has a gross debt of Rs.2,900 crores, intends to lower its debt by Rs.550 crores this year. Springway Mining has limestone-bearing land in Panna district’s Pawai tehsil and is in the midst of establishing a cement mill in Madhya Pradesh’s Damoh district.
The company’s net worth is Rs.14.22 crore. India Cements said on Monday that it received a payment of Rs.374 crores and that the remaining Rs.103 crores will be granted once certain requirements of the share purchase agreement are met. The board of directors of Jaiprakash Associates has approved a proposal to divest the cement plant owned by JP Power Ventures in order to pay debt obligations and prevent a default.
