Displaying items by tag: JSW Cement

India: JSW Group is actively seeking investment opportunities in Assam’s cement sector. Besides cement production, the group is reportedly investigating power plant opportunities in the state.

The Business Standard newspaper has reported that JSW Group Chair Sajjan Jindal noted the strategic importance of North East India as one half of a ‘dual-engine’ Indian economy.

India: Shiva Cement, a JSW Cement subsidiary, has signed an agreement with Bhushan Power and Steel (BPSL) for the development of a 1Mt/yr cement grinding unit at BPSL's premises in Sambalpur, Odisha. The agreement formalises the proposed transaction following board and shareholder approvals in 2024, as well as the signing of a memorandum of understanding.

Under the agreement, BPSL will construct, install and operate the grinding unit for Shiva Cement. The total transaction value is capped at US$44m.

Holcim revealed the board members for its proposed North America business this week. Former group CEO Jan Jenisch was confirmed as the designated chair and CEO. He will be joined by nine directors chosen from sectors including construction, manufacturing, industrial operations and financial services. Notably, current Holcim director Jürg Oleas will be joining Jenisch at the new company. He previously worked as the head of GEA Group and had senior stints at ABB and the Alstom Group.

The group’s decision to split its business in North America from that in the rest of the world has been presented as a piece of financial engineering designed to increase earnings, margins and increase the value of the business. Markets in the US and Europe have diverged in recent years, with the former growing and the latter slowing in comparison. Splitting the business should, in theory, allow both companies to grow at their own pace. However, the spin-off company in North America will remain linked to Europe as it will be listed at both the New York Stock Exchange and the SIX Swiss Exchange. The latter is for the benefit of European investors. The separation is expected by the end of the first half 2025, subject to shareholder and customary approvals.

Naturally, other companies are also chasing growth in North America. Titan Cement announced this week that its US-based subsidiary, Titan America, has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of a proposed initial public offering (IPO). Yet, the company said that the offering is subject to market conditions. As such it couldn’t say when it might happen, how big it might be or much else. Back in May 2024 the group said it was going to list Titan America in the US to “...facilitate the group’s and Titan America’s future growth and unlock new opportunities.” The IPO was intended to be of a minority stake without creating any large-scale tax issues. At this time the transaction was planned to be completed in early 2025.

Titan’s sales share in North America has remained similar from 2018 to 2023 at around 55%. Holcim’s, by comparison, grew to 39% in 2023 from 22% in 2018. This is due to big acquisitions in the US such as Firestone Building Products in 2021 as it built up its lightweight building materials segment. The size of the two companies’ operations in North America are also different. Holcim reported net sales in the region of over US$11bn in 2023. Titan reported net sales of just under US$1.5bn.

Ireland-based CRH moved its stock market listings to the US earlier than both Holcim and Titan. It completed the transition of its primary listing to the New York Stock Exchange in mid-2023, although it too retains a listing in Europe, at the London Stock Exchange in its case. Yet analysts have started to wonder whether the company might spin-off its businesses outside the US. As reported by the Irish Times, Bank of America analysts reckon that the non-US parts of the company now represent only 16% of the US$82bn concern. For sanity’s sake this is still a US$10bn-plus sized company! Although other commentators did wonder why CRH might have bought assets in Australia in 2024 if it was seriously considering making changes on this scale anytime soon.

Despite all this attention on the US and North America by some of the multinational cement producers, it is worth remembering that markets change over time. Europe may not look so hot right now but it is unlikely to stay like this. The head of Heidelberg Materials, for example, said in early 2024 that his company wasn’t planning a split in the US because it was focusing on decarbonisation. This may prove prescient in the longer term if Europe sticks to its sustainability goals. FInally, the US isn’t the only place where cement companies are attempting to build their value in growth markets. It was also reported this week that JSW Cement had obtained approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India to proceed with its IPO.

India: JSW Cement has received regulatory approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to proceed with its initial public offering (IPO) after a four-month hold-up since September 2024. The IPO includes a fresh issue of shares worth US$230m and an offer for sale by three shareholders, Apollo Global Management, Synergy Capital and State Bank of India (SBI), worth US$230m combined.

Proceeds from the fresh issue will include US$92.3m for a new cement unit in Nagaur, Rajasthan, and US$83m for debt repayment.

India: JSW Cement has commissioned another 2Mt/yr of grinding capacity at its Vijayanagar plant in Karnataka, increasing the plant's total capacity to 6Mt/yr. The expansion, which cost US$55m, increases the company's overall capacity to over 20Mt/yr.  JSW Cement was set to raise US$476m through an initial public offering (IPO), but the Securities and Exchange Board of India has placed the IPO plans ‘in abeyance’ as of September 2024, according to the Economic Times. Funds from the IPO were earmarked for debt repayment and financing a new unit in Nagaur, Rajasthan.

Chief executive officer Nilesh Narwekar said "This new capacity at Vijayanagar is a significant step towards increasing our overall capacity to 40.8Mt/yr while maintaining our commitment to sustainability."

India: JSW Cement plans to more than double its cement grinding capacity from 20.6Mt/yr to nearly 41Mt/yr. The expansion involves six new greenfield units in Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Maharashtra, and a brownfield unit in Vijayanagar; Karnataka, adding 20.25Mt/yr. The company also aims to increase its clinker production capacity from 6.44Mt/yr to 13.04Mt/yr. The new facilities in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh will each contribute 3.3Mt/yr to this expansion. In its offer document, JSW Cement stated that it sees potential in ‘green’ cement products like ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and plans to expand its presence in northern and central India.

India: JSW Cement has filed an offer document with the Securities and Exchange Board of India for an initial public offer (IPO) of US$477m, according to NewsBytes. The IPO includes an equal split of fresh issue and offer-for-sale, each valued at US$239m. The funds will be used partly to finance a new integrated cement plant in Nagaur, Rajasthan, with US$95.5m allocated for this purpose, and US$86m used to reduce its existing debt, which stood at US$696m as of March 2024.

India: JSW Cement has entered the competition to acquire a 38% stake in Orient Cement from the CK Birla Group, against UltraTech Cement and Adani Group. UltraTech Cement is reportedly in advanced discussions with CK Birla, having proposed a share price range of US$4.18 - 4.48, which places the enterprise value at US$872m-931m. The Adani Group has also expressed interest in acquiring Orient Cement, although their negotiations have been hindered by valuation disputes and environmental clearance issues.

India: JSW Cement will establish its first cement plant in the north of the country at Nagaur, Rajasthan. The new site will begin with a capacity of 3.3Mt/yr, eventually expanding to a capacity of 15Mt/yr by 2026.

Managing director Parth Jindal posted on X "Extremely proud that JSW Cement is entering North India, today we have broken ground at our site in Nagaur, Rajasthan. A new beginning for JSW, one that will see us becoming a pan-Indian cement player by 2026.”

India: Aditya Birla subsidiary UltraTech Cement and JSW Cement are among companies in contention to acquire Vadraj Cement, the Economic Times newspaper has reported. To this end, companies have reportedly raised US$959m-worth of new finances through loans.