UltraTech to buy Jaiprakash’s 2 cement plants for Rs5,400 cr
23 Dec 2014
Aditya Birla group company UltraTech Cement has agreed to buy two cement plants of Jaiprakash Associates, located in Madhya Pradesh, for Rs5,400 core, including debt, the two companies said on Tuesday.
The acquisition will initially raise UltraTech's cement capacity in India to 65 million tonnes per year from 60 million tonnes, which will rise further to 71 million tonnes a year by 2016, the company stated in a release.
Besides, it will create significant synergies for UltraTech, the country's leading cement maker, the company added.
Jaiprakash has been selling assets in recent quarters to cut its heavy debt load and improve its balance sheet.
It said that - including the latest deal - it had sold assets worth more than 200 billion rupees and that it would now shift focus to making operational savings.
Jaiprakash will remain the country's third-biggest cement producer after the plant sales, with a capacity of 22 million tonnes a year, it added.