Adani Enterprises on Friday said it was ``not evaluating’’ any proposal to acquire the Jaypee group’s cement business.

"It is submitted that the company is not evaluating any such proposal and hence we are not in a position to comment on the veracity of said media report. In the event there is any development that requires disclosure under Regulation 30 of the Sebi (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, we will responsibly disclose the same in accordance with the regulatory requirements,’’ the flagship company of the Adani group said in a regulatory filing.

The announcement led to the shares of Jaiprakash Associates slumping 7.29 per cent to Rs 10.56 on the BSE. The shares of another group company, Jaiprakash Power Ventures Limited (JVPL), ended unchanged at Rs 7.85.

The clarification by Adani Enterprises comes amid reports that Gautam Adani was looking at another acquisition as he seeks to double the group’s cement manufacturing capacity and become the most profitable player in the country.

Adani had recently completed the acquisition of Holcim’s cement business in India which came with a capacity of 70 million tonnes (mt). The group would have got another 10mt in its bag had the deal with the Jaypee group gone through.

A Bloomberg report had recently said that the conglomerate was in advanced talks with the Jaypee group to acquire its cement business for about Rs 5,000 crore or $606 million. The report had added though discussions between the parties were at an advanced stage, they could be delayed or fall apart.

Earlier this week, both Jaiprakash Associates and JPVL said they would divest their cement businesses as well as some non-core assets to reduce debt.

The decisions by the two companies to sell their cement business came against the backdrop of a recent plea by the country’s biggest lender State Bank of India (SBI) to initiate insolvency proceedings against Jaiprakash Associates.

The Adani group is the country’s second largest cement maker. UltraTech Cement led by Kumar Mangalam Birla is India’s biggest player with a capacity of around 120mt. It has plans to scale up to 160mt.

Among the two Jaypee group firms, while JAL has an aggregate capacity of around 6mt, JPVL has around four million tonnes.