Displaying items by tag: India

India: Adani Group says that it will power 60% of its cement production using renewable energy by 2028. In a post on X, the group noted that its Adani Cement business uses fly ash or slag in cement production at 90% of its plants.

India: Dalmia Cement (Bharat) has appointed Puneet Yadu Dalmia as its managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) for a five-year term with effect from 8 December 2023. He succeeds Mahendra Singhi, who will become the strategic advisor to the managing director and CEO.

Puneet Dalmia has been the managing director of parent company Dalmia Bharat since 2004. Prior to this he co-founded JobsAhead.com in 1999, which was sold to Monster.com in 2004. He is also the chair of the Development Council for Cement Industry (DCCI) set up by the Government of India in 2021. He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Indian Institute Of Management in Bangalore and an undergraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.

India: Shree Digvijay Cement has appointed Ramanujan Krishnakumar as its chief executive officer and managing director with a five year period with effect from 16 December 2023. He succeeds KK Rajeev Nambiar, who has decided to retire early due to personal reasons.

Krishnakumar, aged 53 years, joined Shree Digvijay Cement in 2015 and has worked as its Plant Head. Prior to this he worked for ACC, where he was in charge of the engineering department at the Wadi plant. He also played a key role in the erection and commissioning of a 15MW coal-based power plant at ACC’s Madukkarai plant. He holds a degree from the Bhilai Institute of Technology in Durg.

India: Ambuja Cements has completed its acquisition of a 54% stake in Sanghi Industries for an enterprise value of US$622m. It has funded the purchase through internal accruals. Following the acquisition, Ambuja Cement’s parent company, Adani Group, now has a cement capacity of 75Mt/yr, up by 9% from 69Mt/yr. It has also gained 1Bnt of limestone reserves.

Ambuja Cements said that the transaction would allow it to accelerate its coastal strategy in the west of the country with the aim of reaching a regional cement production capacity of 15Mt/yr. It intends to expand the captive port at the Sanghipuram cement plant to accommodate larger vessels to target markets in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala by 2026. Debottlenecking, fuel mix changes and solar and wind projects are also being considering at the site.

India: Kesoram Industries says that it will repay US$180m-worth of loans from Cerberus Capital Services, Edelweiss and Goldman Sachs ahead of maturity. The Economic Times newspaper has reported that the company is repaying the debt in anticipation of refinancing following a merger deal with UltraTech Cement. Kesoram Industries expects the deal to lower its cost of borrowing.

India: UltraTech Cement’s acquisition of Kesoram Cement will raise its share of capacity in the Southern Indian cement market to 21% from 11%, according to BusinessLine Online News. Market researcher Emkay Global said that it expects the acquisition and UltraTech Cement’s current expansion plans to raise the group’s total share of cement capacity in Southern India and Western India by 7 – 8%.

India: Sanghi Industries plans to begin marketing its cement with ACC branded packaging. Informist EquityWire News has reported that the shift follows the acquisition of a majority stake in the company by ACC’s fellow Adani Group subsidiary Ambuja Cements in August 2023.

India: UltraTech Cement has concluded an agreement to acquire Kesoram Cement from Kesoram Industries for US$912m. The Times of India newspaper has reported that the price includes an equity value of US$646m and debt of US$267m. As part of the deal, Kesoram Industries shareholders will gain single shares in UltraTech Cement for every 52 shares they hold in Kesoram Industries.

Kesoram Cement operates two cement plants – the 10.8Mt/yr Vasavadatta plant in Karnataka and the 660,000t/yr Kesoram cement plant in Telangana – and a packing plant in Maharashtra.

Kesoram Industries says that the sale of Kesoram Cement will help it to focus on its chemicals, rayon and transparent paper businesses.

India: UltraTech Cement has bought the 540,000t/yr Patratu grinding plant from Burnpur Cement for US$20.4m. The Hindu Business Line newspaper has reported that the purchase brings UltraTech Cement’s installed cement capacity to 133Mt/yr.

India: JK Lakshmi Cement has obtained environmental clearance to mine up to 2.5Mt/yr of limestone from it Kachchh mine in Gujarat. The producer says that it plans to invest US$24m in expanding its operations at the site.