Emami Group on Thursday said it has entered into a binding agreement with Nuvoco Vistas Corporation Limited, part of Nirma Group, to sell 100 per cent equity in Emami Cement Limited at an enterprise valuation of Rs 5,500 crore.

The promoters of the city-headquartered company have been seeking to pare group-level debt and had initially sought much higher valuation.

Aditya Birla flagship UltraTech, Nuvoco Vistas (formerly Nirma Cement), a LafargeHolcim company and Star Cement were in the race for taking over the 8-million tonne capacity cement business of Emami Group.

Emami Cement operates one integrated plant and three grinding units with a total capacity of around 8.3 million tonnes per annum.

Emami Cement has operation in West Bengal, Odhisa, Chhattisgarh and Bihar. PTI BSM Manish Goenka, Director, Emami Group said: This transaction is an important step in our Groups stated objective of becoming debt-free and with this transaction we will substantially achieve this objective. We are very proud of Emami Cements achievements in a short span of time and we strongly believe that in Nuvoco, we have found the right acquirer who will be able to develop the business further in the interest of all the stakeholders. Aditya Agarwal, Director, Emami Group said: We are very proud of Emami Cement, which has achieved significant milestones in a very short span of time. It has successfully established a very strong brand equity in the market for its highest standard of operation and high-quality products, helping us to get a good value. We strongly believe that the Nuvoco and Nirma Group will continue from here and strengthen the business further. The transaction is subject to the customary approvals including from the Competition Commission and is expected to be consummated in next 3-4 months. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas acted as the legal advisor, Deloitte Touche Tohamatsu India LLP acted as the financial diligence advisor and Arpwood Capital acted as the financial advisor.