Investors have put money in Ambuja Cements shares as the cement major has moved to consolidate its operations. The Adani Group company has proposed to merge its subsidiaries ACC and Orient Cement into the parent entity.
Adani group firms Ambuja Cement Ltd and ACC Ltd on Thursday said no shares of the companies have been pledged by the promoters, who have only provided a "non-disposal undertaking". In a joint statement to stock exchanges, Ambuja Cement Ltd and ACC Ltd termed as "misleading" reports of pledging of shares by the promoters as part of financing their acquisition. "Consequently, there are market rumours that amid market volatility, there is a requirement to meet the top-up triggers where in there is selling pressure," the statement said.
Adani Group on Friday launched its Rs 31,000-crore open offer to acquire 26 per cent additional stake from the public shareholders of Swiss firm Holcim's two Indian listed entities ACC Ltd and Ambuja Cements. In May this year, the Adani Group had announced that it had clinched a deal to acquire a controlling stake in Holcim Ltd's businesses in India for $10.5 billion. Markets regulator Sebi granted approval for the open offer last week.
Billionaire Gautam Adani's son Karan will helm the cement firms his group has acquired to become India's second largest cement player and extend his burgeoning empire that spans from ports and energy to airports and telecom.
The possible acquisition of Holcim India business will be one of the biggest inbound corporate deals in the country. Currently, Walmart Inc.'s $16-billion acquisition of Flipkart Online Services in 2018 remains the biggest acquisition of an Indian asset by any acquirer, followed by BP plc acquisition of 30 per cent stake in Reliance Industries' 23 oil and gas production blocks in 2011 for $7.2 billion. Bloomberg reported late on Wednesday night that Holcim - the world's biggest cement maker - is considering a potential sale of its India business and gauging interest in its controlling stake in Ambuja Cement.
The country's leading cement maker UltraTech on Thursday said it will acquire a 23 per cent stake in its Chennai-based rival India Cements Ltd, in a deal estimated to be around Rs 1,885 crore. As part of the transaction, UltraTech Cement will acquire 7.06 crores equity shares of India Cements at a price of up to Rs 267 per share, according to a regulatory filing from the Aditya Birla Group flagship firm.
After cement, billionaire Gautam Adani's group and Kumar Mangalam Birla's Aditya Birla Group are set for a face-off in the wires and cable business with both conglomerates announcing forays into the high double-digit growth sector.
The open offers for the shareholders of Ambuja Cements and ACC will begin from July 6 and close on July 19, as per a tentative schedule published by the Adani family today. With an investment of $4 billion (Rs 31,139 crore), together these two open offers might constitute the biggest open offer in corporate Indian history. The mandatory open offer for the companies was made by a Mauritius based company owned by the Adani family after they acquired a 63 per cent stake in Ambuja and 4.5 per cent in ACC from Swiss cement major, Holcim for $6.5 billion. Ambuja owns a 50 per cent stake in ACC.
There has been a sharp slowdown in revenue and profit growth in the cement sector in recent quarters but it is yet to show in the share prices of cement companies. On the contrary, there has been a rally in cement stocks and a re-rating of their equity valuation in the past three years despite an earnings contraction during the period.
India's largest cement firm, Ultratech Cement, has joined the race to acquire the Holcim stake in Ambuja Cements and its subsidiary, ACC. UltraTech - part of the Aditya Birla Group - submitted a non-binding bid on Wednesday. Swiss multinational Holcim, which manufactures building material, is exiting India by selling its 63.19% stake in Ambuja Cements. According to banking sources, UltraTech has submitted a plan to Holcim, outlining divestiture details that would meet the norms set by anti-trust body Competition Commission of India.
The Indian cement industry is hopeful of greener pastures after a long period of stress led by pricing pressures and other factors. The second half of FY25 is expected to bring respite due to price hikes, cost benefits and higher volumes, said analysts. The optimistic momentum also makes cement stocks attractive, analysts added, advising to buy dips following a period of bearish sentiment in these stocks.
The recent price correction in broader markets has hit cement companies hard. So far in the current month, smallcap firms like Visaka Industries, Andhra Cements NCL Industries, Sahyadri Industries, and KCP have lost 19.7 per cent, 14.3 per cent, 13.8 per cent, 13.5 per cent, and 11.5 per cent, respectively. On the contrary, largecap companies, while registering losses for the month, have seen a softer blow.
Analysts remain selective on cement stocks amid the likely government's capex push ahead of the scheduled general elections in May 2024. While UBS has initiated coverage on the Indian cement sector with an anti-consensus negative view and suggests investors sell select cement stocks on a rally, those at Nomura remain selectively bullish on the sector and prefer companies with large brownfield optionality and multi-region presence. In the near-term, UBS expects strong earnings of cement companies in the next two quarters to be driven by robust demand and margin tailwinds, but suggests any sharp uptick in stock prices could offer a good opportunity for booking profits in the related counters.
Ports-to-energy conglomerate Adani Group saw a 29 per cent rise in tax outgo across portfolio companies to nearly Rs 75,000 crore, it said on Thursday. This includes both direct and indirect taxes paid, as well as payments towards employee social security.
UltraTech Cement's announcement that it would snap up a controlling stake in India Cements may only be a sign of more to come. In the wake of one of the country's most expensive deals in recent times, cement majors may slug it out to add smaller firms from the region to their portfolio. UltraTech's buy is the latest in the four deals the southern market has seen in less than a year, with Adani Cement being the other buyer.
Cement manufacturers' show during the June 2023-ended quarter (Q1FY24) has indicated an intensified slugfest for market share. For instance, Dalmia Bharat (Cement) said it has lost market share in eastern India owing to lack of price discipline. Industry analysts also said that the seasonal weakness in cement prices for Q1 is showing up earlier than usual.
Cement companies witnessed speculative support from investors through FY23 amid hopes of a rebound. After capex announcements in the FY24 Budget, there was further interest due to expectations that government expenditure would boost earnings, besides a generic macro-recovery. Cement earnings were under pressure in FY22 and FY23 due to high raw material and fuel costs; muted demand prevented them passing on the higher cost.
Billionaire Gautam Adani on Sunday won the race to acquire Swiss cement major Holcim's stake in Ambuja Cements and its subsidiary ACC for $10.5 bn (around Rs 81,361 crore), including the open offers. The Adani family, through an offshore special-purpose vehicle, announced that it had entered into definitive agreements for the acquisition of Holcim Ltd's entire stake in two of India's leading cement companies -- Ambuja Cements and ACC -- the Adani group said in a statement. The group outbid Ultratech and JSW group to enter the cement industry and also emerge as the country's second-largest cement manufacturer, with 70 million tonnes of capacity annually.
Acceleration in demand, together with marginal price hikes of about 2-3 per cent by cement companies in the October-December quarter (third quarter, or Q3) of 2022-23, may not be enough to cushion the impact of high input costs on the bottom line, reveal Bloomberg consensus estimates for the quarter. Year-on-year (YoY) net sales growth in Q3 will come in at nearly 7 per cent, shows Bloomberg data, while bottom-line growth will show a sharp decline of 25 per cent from a year ago. The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) will likely decline by nearly 5 per cent versus a year ago, shows data.
The cement industry continues to present a puzzle to investors.
Ultratech Cement's acquisition of a 23 per cent stake in Tamil Nadu-based India Cements is another instance of growing consolidation in the cement market in India. The deal will raise Ultratech's share, based on India Cements' revenues in FY24, in the domestic market by 230 basis points if the latter is formally acquired by the former in due course. India Cements' share was up 11.5 per cent on Thursday on market expectations of an open offer.
Associated Cement Companies Ltd decided to divest a 19.56 per cent stake in Bridgestone ACC India Ltd.
Corporate India is starting to step up its capital expenditure plans amid government incentives and signs of rising demand, company executives and analysts have indicated. This coincides with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently citing a double-digit growth in private capital expenditure. Healthy balance sheets of banks and corporates, along with increasing capacity utilisation and improving business sentiment, are contributing to a favourable environment for sustained growth in private sector investments, the RBI said in its policy last week.
Adani group stocks rallied on Thursday morning after Hindenburg Research, a US investment research firm known for short-selling, and whose reports resulted in wiping out billions of dollars of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and his companies, has been shut down. Shares of Adani Power surged 9.21 per cent, Adani Green Energy soared 8.86 per cent, Adani Enterprises climbed 7.72 per cent, Adani Total Gas jumped 7.10 per cent, NDTV rallied 7 per cent and Adani Energy Solutions advanced 6.63 per cent on the BSE.
The sector may be overcrowded with a fair number of large players and the entry of the Adani Group through its two key acquisitions, followed by the takeover of majority stake in Sanghi Industries via Ambuja Cements. Since every major player is in expansion mode, there could be a capacity surplus and hence, price wars.
Too many thorny issues, parent Holcim will take up matter later.
The chairman of the JSW Group of companies, Sajjan Jindal, whose stake in the group is valued at $14.5 billion (Rs 1.1 trillion), is betting $4.5 billion of his personal fortune in the firm's bid for Ambuja Cements. According to bankers, Jindal's contribution will be a combination of share sale and debts raised by pledging the stake of the target entities with private equities. The JSW Group chairman has offered $7 billion for Ambuja Cements, including $2.5 billion of investments from private equities, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
Investors became richer by nearly Rs 8 lakh crore on Wednesday as benchmark BSE Sensex surged by 740 points amid value buying in utilities and power shares and a strong trend in global markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex surged by 740.30 points or 1.01 per cent to close at 73,730.23.
Hectic buying in blue chip counters like Reliance Industries, IT and teck shares boosted market sentiment. State Bank of India, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan, ITC, Infosys, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Finance were the biggest gainers.
ACC, the country's largest cement maker that had temporarily idled a plant in Himachal Pradesh this month, said it has kept all options open on similar shutdowns at its other locations in case there is no satisfactory demand for its products.
Days after completing a $6.5 billion acquisition of Ambuja Cements and ACC, billionaire Gautam Adani said his group has planned to double cement manufacturing capacity and become the most profitable manufacturer in the country. He saw a multifold rise in cement demand in India on the back of record-breaking economic growth and the government's infrastructure creation push, which will give significant margin expansion. In a speech made at an event to mark the completion of the acquisition on September 17, the Adani Group founder and chairman said the ports-to-energy conglomerate has in a single stroke become the second largest cement manufacturer in the country.
Holcim Ltd, the world's second largest cement producer, has made a $800 million bid to acquire Associated Cement Company Ltd, India's largest cement manufacturer.
Analysts see a buy opportunity as gap with peers is now at 37% compared to 13% historically.
Adani group stocks faced heavy drubbing during the early trade on Thursday, with Adani Energy and Adani Enterprises tumbling 20 per cent, as billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged by US prosecutors over his role in an alleged years-long scheme to pay $250 million bribe to Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms for solar power contracts. The stock of the group's flagship firm Adani Enterprises plunged 20 per cent, Adani Energy Solutions tanked 20 per cent, Adani Green Energy plummeted 19.17 per cent, Adani Total Gas tumbled 18.14 per cent, Adani Power slumped 17.79 per cent, and Adani Ports dived 15 per cent on the BSE.
In a move aimed at consolidating its Indian operations, Swiss cement major Holcim will increase its control in ACC and Gujarat Ambuja Cements for close to Rs 2,700 crore (Rs 27 billion).
None of Adani group portfolio companies, comprising 11 listed firms, have been accused of any wrongdoing, conglomerate's CFO Jugeshinder Robbie Singh said on founder and chairman Gautam Adani's indictment on bribery charges in the US. In a post on X, Singh said the group would make a detailed comment on the US indictment once it gets counsel approvals.
The state's tax department had collected Rs 64 crore (Rs 640 million) from ACC, against which the company moved the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
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