UltraTech enters race to buy Holcim’s stake in Ambuja Cement, ACC

UltraTech Cement of the Aditya Birla group has formally joined the race to acquire Swiss cement giant Holcim’s stake in Ambuja Cement and ACC Limited.

Gautam Adani-owned Adani Group, and Sajjan Jindal’s JSW group jumped into the race to acquire control that would instantly boost their position in the cement market.

On Wednesday, Ambuja Cements' shares opened in the green at Rs 360.80 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), while the ACC scrip rose to Rs 2,207 apiece. The Aditya Birla Group is ready to divest voluntary assets of approximately 15 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), as a solution to comply with market share norms.

India’s antitrust body, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), has provided long-form merger notifications in eight out of 16 cement agreements since 2011. Of these eight, UltraTech independently had filed for five since 2013 with the CCI.

UltraTech was optimistic about getting the antitrust regulator’s green signal.

CCI lawyers are of the view that if firms can come up with possible solutions, approvals can come in as early as 30 working days. All five Aditya Birla Group cement agreements have been approved within the 30-working day period – also known as phase I approvals.

However, in phase II approvals, the regulator can take up to 210 calendar days from the time of obtaining the application to clear a proposal, if no corrective measures are provided.

Birla will volunteer a remedial plan involving divesting assets for a fast phase I approval.

Given the strong market presence of both players coupled with the oligopolistic nature of the industry, the CCI will generally concentrate on the combined market shares of parties, the extent of barriers to access in the market, and the position of their competitors in the market.

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Also read: JSW, Adani set to battle for Holcim's India cement assets