The Adani group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, is in talks to acquire majority stakes in Sanghi Industries, which is one of the leading cement manufacturers from western India, said an industry source.
This would be the first major deal by ports-to-power conglomerate Adani Group after the report from Hindenburg, the short-selling firm which had alleged financial misconduct.
The talks are in the final stages and an announcement is expected soon, said the industry source.
If the deal goes through, this would help Adani Cement, the second biggest manufacturer after UltraTech, to expand its capacity into the segment, which it had entered last September, after the acquisition of majority stakes in Ambuja Cement and its subsidiary ACC Ltd.
According to some media reports, in the deal, the enterprise value of Sanghi Industries is around $600 million and the Adani group would buy the promoters’ stake.
The promoter and promoter group hold a 72.72 per cent stake in Sanghi Industries as on June 30.
An e-mail sent to the Adani group remained unanswered.
Sanghi Cement has cement plants located at Kutch in Gujarat, which has a 6.6-MMTPA capacity clinker plant and a 6.1-MMTPA capacity cement Plant.
Adani Cement, led by Gautam Adani’s son Karan Adani, has an installed capacity of nearly 70 MMTPA and is looking for aggressive expansion.
Earlier on Wednesday, Ambuja Cement reported an increase of 31.2 per cent in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,135.46 crore for the quarter ended on June 30, led by volume growth and reduction in operating cost.
The company had clocked a net profit of Rs 865.44 crore in the April-June quarter a year-ago, Ambuja Cements said in a regulatory filing.
Consolidated revenue from operations was up 8.46 per
cent to Rs 8,712.90 crore during the quarter under review. It was Rs 8.032.88 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.
However, on a standalone basis, Ambuja Cements reported a decline of 38.51 per cent in its net profit to Rs 644.88 crore in the April-June quarter against Rs 1,048.78 crore in the year-ago quarter.
