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Lafarge to buy Raymond's cement unit for Rs 7.85 billion

French cement major Lafarge, after acquiring Tata Steel's, or TISCO, cement unit, today entered into an agreement with Raymond Limited to acquire its cement division at a price of Rs 7.85 billion.

The cement division of Raymond has a plant with 2.24 million tonne capacity and is at Bilaspur in Madhya Pradesh.

This was the second major acquisition being made by Lafarge in the Indian cement sector. Lafarge currently has a two million tonnes cement operation in eastern India, which it acquired from TISCO in November 1999

Chief executive officer of Lafarge's Indian operation Thomas Farrell said, "Due to the proximity of Raymond's cement plant to our key east Indian markets, this acquisition is an important strategic step for Lafarge in India providing considerable synergies without existing operations."

After the takeover of Raymond's cement division, Lafarge will have a total cement capacity of 4.24 million tonnes from three cement units and emerge as an important player in the east Indian markets.

The transaction is subject to the necessary approvals and satisfactory completion of all terms and conditions as per the agreement.

Raymond Limited, flagship of the Vijaypat Singhania Group of Companies, is famous for its products in the worsted suiting fabric and other woollen products.

Raymond's cement division has a strong market position in West Bengal, Bihar and the North-Eastern states. Lafarge expects to improve the performance of the cement division through know-how transfer and process enhancements.

Lafarge has nearly 100 cement and grinding plants in 70 countries aggregating more than 100 million tonnes of capacity.

It is the second-largest cement producer in the world, employing 71,000 people and generating annual sales of $ 10.5 billion.

UNI

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