Following his rejection of earlier offers from other domestic companies for not meeting his valuation criteria, industrialist CK Birla has approached Gautam Adani to sell his promoter interest in listed Orient Cement, individuals with knowledge of the talks informed ET. In order to explore a possible deal for the Adanis, who now possess India’s second-largest cement capacity, senior management officials from both sides have also met.
Birla enlisted JP Morgan earlier this summer to locate a buyer for his company.
With a current market value of ₹3,878 crore, the Birla family and private investment entities own a 37.9% promoter share in Orient Cement. In the last three months, the stock has increased by 29% in expectation of a sale.
In compliance with takeover regulations, which require a new promoter or controlling corporation to purchase the additional shares from current minority investors, the transition will initiate an open offer for an additional 26% interest.
Deepak Khetrapal, MD, Orient Cement, remarked, “I have nothing to contribute to your story as I am unaware of what you are talking about.”
Also read, Adani Ports confident of making $650 million foreign currency bond prepayments by Feb: Karan Adani
Formal Talks Between Adani and CK Birla in the last few months
“As the MD of the company, my job is to run the company and I talk about the performance of the company,” he stated.
Both businesses denied to the stock exchange in January that they were having talks, following the news that was initially published by Informist. According to sources, serious negotiations have only started in the last few months.
The sources mentioned earlier emphasized that there is no assurance that the conversations will result in a sale.
Adani purchased Sanghi Industries in August for an enterprise value of ₹5,000 crore, defeating rivals Nuvoco, JK Lakshmi, and market leader UltraTech. This was first cement acquisition following the $6.5 billion acquisition of Holcim’s India assets, which included Ambuja Cement and ACC.
For more business news, click here
