Ahmedabad-based firm to fund deal through equal amount of equity and debt.
Submits revised proposal to CCI as Birla Corp deal fails
Cement major Lafarge India Private Limited has launched 'Project Employability', a programme designed to train rural unemployed youth and make them self reliant.
The proposals, approved by Finance Minister P Chidambaram on the recommendation of Foreign Investment Promotion Board, also included the offer from cement manufacturer Lafarge India for merger of Lafarge India Holding Pvt Ltd with Lafarge India Pvt Ltd, according to the finance ministry. The Lafarge's proposal was cleared as per the order of Bombay high court, a finance ministry statement said.
Now with 13-14 million-tonne capacity, Nirma will emerge as a serious player in India's cement landscape.
Lafarge is in a drive to shed non-core assets to cut its debt to below 10 billion euros from 12.2 billion euros.
Nirma has roped in BCG and KPMG to advise it on the fundraising options for the acquisition. The company had earlier informed banks that it would raise Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 7,000 crore in the current financial year for the acquisition. Bankers said the company will rely on its funds and future GLS dividend to repay its debt for acquisition.
Cement-maker to increase capacity to 20 MT with three new units. After acquiring L&T Concrete and capturing over 25 per cent of the market share in ready-mix concrete space in the country, the cement major is set to establish a pan-India presence. The company has plans to set up at least three greenfield units with a capacity of 2.5 MT each. According to sources, the company has zeroed in on Rajasthan, Karnataka and Meghalaya for the facilities.
Ahmedabad-based Nirma group and leading private equity firms have joined the race to acquire BSE-listed Glenmark Life Sciences. The acquisition by chemicals-to-cement major Nirma, if successful, would be a major boost for the health-care segment of the group, on the lines of its successful entry into the cement sector following its purchase of Lafarge India's assets for about Rs 9,400 crore in July 2016. It later followed up by buying Emami cement assets for Rs 5,500 crore in February 2020.
Nirma has jumped into the ongoing cricket spectacle - IPL - as the principal sponsor for the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore to raise awareness and recognition for the cement brands it acquired after its purchase of the erstwhile Lafarge India's assets in 2016
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.
The Essar Oil, Rosneft deal also helped Arpwood Capital, boutique investment bank, co-founded by Rajeev Gupta and Raj Kataria, to grab the second spot in the mergers and acquisitions league table.
Nirma's tryst with the pharmaceutical space started in 2006 when it acquired the ailing Core Healthcare in a deal reported to be worth Rs 300 crore. The Ahmedabad-based manufacturer of intravenous fluids was subsequently renamed Nirlife. Pharma industry insiders say Nirma, which broke open the detergent market in the 1990s with low prices and massive advertising, tried an encore of the low-price strategy in pharma, but with mixed results.
This was mostly driven by Qatar Foundation Endowment's $1.26 billion investment in Bharti Airtel.
Many see Nirma's Lafarge deal as some kind of second coming for the Patels.
We asked you Dear Readers for your memories, photographs and videos of your meeting with M S Dhoni.
The Lafarge mining case has highlighted the appalling weakness of the environmental clearance procedures at all levels, writes Latha Jishnu.
Cross previous high of $72 billion in 2007 as Indian promoters overcome the selling taboo. Abhineet Kumar reports from Mumbai.
Robrecht Himpe, who is the CEO Flat Europe and Amaud Poupart-Lafarge (Africa and CIS) are the new members of the management committee. Further, Andre van den Bossche and Narendra Chaudhary would be retiring from the committee in due course. Bossche is in charge of Global Trade Policy, Steel Contact Groups, Mandates and Associations while Chaudhary is the CEO Africa and CIS.
Top 100 billionaires see their wealth rise 10%; top 20 account for half of total wealth of top 100.
With the acquisition of 14.8 per cent stake in Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd, by Swiss cement major Holcim, foreign players, including Lafarge, would be controlling nearly 25 per cent of total production in the country.
Like their international peers, Indian CEOs too have a significant portion of their incomes coming from stock options and performance-linked bonuses
Birla Corporation has grown from a Rs 1,763-crore company to Rs 3,200 crore; profitability, however, has suffered due to the slowdown.
Sachin Bansal, who had co-founded Flipkart with Binny Bansal in 2007, would exit the company
'Today, according to the law, you can't even claim legal expenses when fighting a case as a non-executive director unless you are acquitted. Given how high legal expenses are, that alone is enough to scare anyone away.'
Karsanbhai Patel's risk-taking abilities are on display once again.
The year 2015 will be a tough year for mergers and acquisition.
Modi urged the Swiss business leaders to explore the investment opportunities in India.
Holcim, the world's second-biggest cement producer, on Tuesday said it would spend almost $600m to expand in India, underlining the determination of leading manufacturers to tap into key growth markets.
The need for larger investment in infrastructure that is the biggest shortcoming, says A V Rajwade.
Turns down firm's plea for stay on CCI order; final order pending
Delaying action on climate change will hurt growth: Global CEOs.
This is the latest in a series of large office space buyouts by RMZ Corp which has created a portfolio of rent-yielding commercial assets in India.
Broader gains were capped as investors awaited corporate results from major firms
MS Dhoni all set for new innings.
Sensex seems to be under pressure on weak cues.
T Thomas, former chairman of Hindustan Unilever, passed away March 2.
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