Cement, Energy and Environment

These orders are for expansion at its Rawan plant in Chhattisgarh and Rajashree unit in Karnataka, Alchemy Share & Stock Brokers said in a note to its clients. The 52-million tonne company has already stated it plan to add 25 million tonne capacity over the next five years to maintain its market share. The Birla company has a 19% share of the Rs. 1,00,000 crore market, world's second largest market after China. Ultra Tech has emerged as the single largest cement company in India with an annual cement capacity of 48.8 million tonne, thanks to the merger of the cement division of Grasim Industries with itself. It also has captive power of 504 MW. It recently bought the 3-million tonne ETA Star in Dubai. Ultra Tech's closest rival Holcim Group's ACC and Ambuja Cement with 30.6 million tonne and over 25 million tonne capacity, respectively, are yet to finalize and announce any further expansion plan. ACC has expanded its manufacturing capacity by nearly 10 million tonne in over 3 years, while Ambuja will be a 27-million tonne company by December and against 18 million tonne in 2007. Courtesy: The Economic Times Mumbai, 08.10.2010. [ Merger & Acquisition HOLCIM TAKES FIRST STEP TOWARDS MERGING ACC, AMBUJA CEMENTS Switzerland-based Holcim AG has made the initial move towards merging its Indian subsideries, Ambuja Cements and ACC. It is learnt to have given Hewitt Associates the mandate to undertake organizational restructuring of the two companies. To an SMS enquiry, Sandeep Chaudhary, business leader, Hewitt Associates, replied: "It is right that we have been retained by Holcim, but we cannot comment on anything in the media. It will take three months to complete the entire relocation of people in the two companies, said one person. Another said the merger will happen in the next 3-6 months. They are now looking at sorting out the tax and legal complications involved in the merger. Only then can bankers be appointed to arrive at the swap ratio. But mandates will be doled out soon ." A top Holcim AG official , however, denied the development. "Please note that no such discussions of any sorts are ongoing ," said Paul Hugentobler, member of the executive committee, Holcim in reply to a query from DNA Money. There have been a few transfers from Ambuja to ACC at the mid and senior levels recently, though it could not be Holcim owns 35.77 per cent stake in Ambuja Cements. Narotam S Sekhsaria, promoter and Chairman of Ambuja Cements, owns 0.79 per cent through Radha Madhav Investments Ltd and RKBK Fiscal Services Pvt. Ltd , while Ambuja Cements India Pvt. Ltd owns 9.88 per cent, taking the total promoter share to 46.40 per cent. Holcim plans to invest Rs 4,700 crore in the next five years on setting up three greenfield cement plants in the country and is aggressively looking at acquiring companies in the central and southern regions. Ambuja Cements expects its overall to touch 27million tonnes by the end of calendar 2010. Courtesy: DNA Mumbai, 30.8.2010. ULTRA TECH: PAN-INDIA PROSPECTS OFFSET BY MARGIN PRESSURES Ultra Tech Cement Ltd will be the largest cement maker in India with a production capacity of 52 million tonnes per annum. Besides the Samruddhi Cement Ltd merger and acquisition of a majority stake in Dubai-based Star Cement, it plans to add 9.2 million tonnes over the next 24 - 30 months. The pan-India presence will reduce geographic risk in the long term, but in the near term that's unlikely to move investors given the bleak outlook for the sector and the pressure on margins. verified if they were undertaken Courtesy: under Hewitt's relocation The Mint Mumbai, 09.08.2010. procedure. 26