Gujarat based Nirma to acquire cement major Lafarge India paying 9000 crore

​Ahmedabad: Gujarat based Nirma Limited has entered in to a letter agreement with LafargeHolcim Group, a leading name in cement, aggregate and concrete business across 90 countires, for the acquisition of 100% shareholding of Lafarge India for an enterprise value of over Rs 9,000 crores.

    Upon completion of the transaction, Nirma , which forayed in to cement sector in November 2014 by commissioning its first plant in Rajasthan, will emerge as one of India’s top 10 cement players with footprint in Eastern, Northern and Western India through 13 million tonnes of cement capacity and over 72 ready-mix sites. The combined operations will span 2 facilities in Chhattisgarh, 2 in Rajasthan, and 1 each in Jharkhand, West Bengal and Haryana. Nirma’s cement sales will spread across 11 states: Chattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, NCR region, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Nirma will have a strong distribution network of 3,500 in the East and 2,700 in the North. Nearly 6,000 employees will join the Nirma through this Transaction.

     A communique by the Ahmedabad headquartered company said that the proposed transaction is subject to the approval by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

      Lafarge India, a subsidiary of the LafargHolcim Group, operates three integrated cement plants, two grinding stations and a blending unit with a total capacity of around 11 million tonnes per annum. The Company has around 14% market share in East India and ranks second in the region by market share. Primary brands of the Company like Concreto, Duraguard etc. command premium market pricing with significant brand recall. The company also has market leading ready-mix concrete business with nearly 72 sites pan-India.

   MD of Nirma Ltd, Hiren Patel said, “This acquisition is a landmark & transformational step for the Group’s Cement Business. With a strong platform like Lafarge’s India business, we plan to take the Cement business to the next level and continue to serve customers with the philosophy of better products at better value for better living”.

Nirma, one of India’s diversified conglomerates with businesses across industrial and consumer products ranging from Soaps and Detergents, Salt, Soda Ash, Caustic Soda, LAB, Cement and other chemicals with over 12 manufacturing facilities in India and the USA which sells its products across 6 continents and has market leadership across several verticals will fund the acquisition through equal proportion of equity and target level financing, the communique said.DeshGujarat