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.
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.
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.
Top Indian cement firms are expected to report a strong earnings growth for the second quarter of the financial year 2025-26 (Q2FY26) on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis, amid improved realisations, prices, and steady volume growth, but on a low base.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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.
With over 10 deals announced in 2024, the cement sector logged the highest number of pacts, including acquisitions and fresh financial investments, in a single calendar year since 2014, with the combined value of investments over $3.5 billion. During the year so far, 11 deals have been announced, according to Bloomberg data.
The company had appointed a three-member committee of directors to implement the changes.
The B K Birla group has decided to invest over Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) for increasing capacities of its group companies.
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.
Bankers said the outlook of M&As in India in 2024, especially in the second half after the Lok Sabha election, seems relatively better.
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 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.
UltraTech Cement's third quarter of financial year 2023-24 (Q3FY24) performance saw a combination of 6 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) volume growth and 8 per cent revenue growth coupled with better realisations per tonne. The earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) stood at Rs 3,250 crore and Ebitda per tonne was Rs 1,191. Profit after tax (PAT) was reported at Rs 1,780 crore. Other income dipped and interest costs rose.
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.
The broader markets ended in line with the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended higher by 1.3% and 0.9% each.
Birla Corporation has grown from a Rs 1,763-crore company to Rs 3,200 crore; profitability, however, has suffered due to the slowdown.
Indices reversed all its losses during late trades.
Reliance Industries and ONGC were down 4-6% each contributing the most to the Sensex losses
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