Adani Group gets approval and open offer to buy two cement manufacturers
Adani Group has received regulatory approval for an open offer of around Rs 311.6 billion ($3.9 billion) to buy the remaining shares of two Indian cement makers, following Holcim Ltd’s decision to sell a majority of its stake to the group in May.
According to two exchange filings filed on Friday, the group led by Asia’s richest man Gautam Adani has offered to buy 26 per cent of Ambuja Cements Ltd at Rs 385 per share and ACC Ltd at Rs 2,300 per share. ICICI Securities Limited and Deutsche Bank AG, who are advising Adani.
The filing said that the open offer for both the cement companies will run from August 26 to September 9.
bloomberg informed of Earlier in the day, the Port-to-Power group got approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India for this open offer, citing people familiar with the development.
Shares of Ambuja and ACC trimmed their gains on Friday after Bloomberg’s story was published. He later gained some ground to close the day higher by 2.7 percent and 1.2 percent respectively.
Asia’s richest man signs $10.5 billion deal with Holcim
Indian stock market rules state that acquiring 25 percent or more of the shares in a local listed firm will trigger a mandatory open offer, where minority shareholders can choose to sell their shares to a new investor at a predetermined price.
As per data compiled by Bloomberg show, Adani’s open offer price for Ambuja is at a discount of 6 per cent compared to Thursday’s closing price, compared to a 1 per cent discount for ACC.
The deal was also approved by India’s antitrust regulator last week.
The Holcim transaction is set to propel the Adani Group to become India’s second largest cement producer almost overnight in a highly fragmented and competitive market.
Holcim agreed in May Sell Adani Group holds 63 per cent of its stake in Mumbai-listed Ambuja Cements, which then said it plans to spend about $10.5 billion on stake purchases and open offers for Ambuja and related entities.
As part of the deal, Adani will inherit Ambuja’s controlling stake in ACC, another publicly traded cement producer, and will buy Holcim’s direct 4.5 per cent stake in the unit.
–With the help of PR Sanjay and Dhvani Pandya.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)