Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd (DCBL) is acquiring the cement, clinker, and power assets of Jaiprakash Associates for an enterprise value of Rs 5,666 crore. DCBL is a subsidiary of Dalmia Bharat Ltd, which has cement capacity of 36 million tonnes (mt), and the acquisition will add 9.4mt cement and 6.7mt clinker capacities along with thermal power plants of 280mw capacity.

The acquisition will enable Dalmia Cement to expand to central India where there is a good scope for growth. The transaction will bring down Jaypee’s debt, which is reportedly estimated at around Rs 29,000 crore.

In October, Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) and Jaiprakash Power Ventures had announced their plan to divest their cement and noncore businesses to reduce their debt. Reports had then said that the Adani group that had acquired Holcim’s India business was in the race to acquire the Jaypee assets. The Adani group denied its interest and subsequently, even UltraTech Cement pulled out of a deal. “JAL, the flagship company, has been taking steps to reduce its debt and repay to lenders and meet its commitments on a pro-active basis.

In this regard, JAL had divested more than 20mt cement capacity in favour of UltraTech Cement Ltd during 2014 and 2017, while selling its controlling stake of more than 2mt cement capacity to Dalmia Group in 2015,’’ Manoj Gaur, executive chairman, JAL, said.

He said in order to repay the loans of lenders and concentrate on its other core areas, JAL has decided to fully divest the cement business. The transaction is subject to due-diligence, approvals from the lenders and joint venture partners of Jaiprakash Associates Limited and regulatory authorities. Shares of JAL on Monday zoomed almost 10 per cent on the news, ending at Rs 11.74 on the BSE.