Basant Kumar Birla, chairman of the Rs 8,000-crore (Rs 80 billion) BK Birla group, has altered his succession plan and at the hub of the change is the Rs 2,500-crore (Rs 25 billion) diversified company Kesoram Industries.
Through rights issue, a firm allows existing shareholders a right to buy additional shares in the company at a specific price.
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.
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.
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.
Bankers said the outlook of M&As in India in 2024, especially in the second half after the Lok Sabha election, seems relatively better.
Birla was the chairman of Century Textiles and Industries and had been active in business since the age of 15. He was instrumental in a slew of business initiatives, starting with his stint as the chairman of Kesoram Industries.
The Board of Kesoram Industries Ltd decided to amalgamate its 100 per cent subsidiary, KICM Investment Ltd with the company.
Kesoram Industries Ltd will buy back its fully paid-up equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each from the open market.
A change is in the wings, though perhaps not right now, for Basant Kumar Birla's Kesoram Industries. Birla, who is 90 and the chairman, says his daughter, Manjushree Khaitan, will manage Kesoram, but under his grandson, Kumar Mangalam Birla.
Birla patriarch, B K Birla's decision to give Kesoram Industries to his grandson Kumarmangalam Birla has brought to focus the possibility of unlocking value in Kesoram through the demerger of its two main businesses - cement and tyre.
Asian Paints, Cipla, Bharat Forge, Dabur India, Nicholas Piramal and Satyam Computer Services are among the 20 Indian corporate entities that have found place in Forbes' list of 'Best Small Asian Companies'.
The succession of B K Birla group companies is not yet complete as a decision on who will inherit Mangalam Cement and ECE Industries is yet pending.
The B K Birla group has decided to invest over Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) for increasing capacities of its group companies.
The B K Birla flagship Kesoram Industries Limited will close down the oil mills and extraction division of Bharat General Section at Malkapur in Maharashtra.
Birla Tyres, a division of the B K Birla flagship Kesoram Industries Limited, on Thursday said it has entered into an arrangement with its collaborator Pirelli of Italy to sell 10,000 radial tyres per month.
The company had appointed a three-member committee of directors to implement the changes.
Birla Corporation has grown from a Rs 1,763-crore company to Rs 3,200 crore; profitability, however, has suffered due to the slowdown.
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