The Hindu : Business : Holcim to make open offer

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Friday, Aug 24, 2007
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Holcim to make open offer

Staff Correspondent

The Swiss major acquires a further 3.9 p.c. stake in Ambuja Cement

MUMBAI: Holcim, the Swiss cement major, which has a 32.3 per cent stake in Ambuja Cements Ltd. (ACL), has acquired a further 3.9 per cent stake of ACL at a price of Rs. 154 per share, amounting to around $220 million.

Holcim, through Holcim Mauritius, has acquired six crore equity shares of ACL constituting 3.94 per cent of the paid-up capital of ACL from Radha Madhav Investments Ltd. (RMIL), RKBK Fiscal Services Pvt. Ltd. (RKBK) and Narottam Seksaria. The purchase is subject to the approval of the Reserve Bank of India.

According to a media release, the Ambuja families will continue to hold a stake in ACL and will stay closely engaged with Holcim and the company. Suresh Neotia will continue as Chairman and Narottam Sekhsaria as Vice-Chairman on the board of ACL.

Following the acquisition of this stake, Holcim exceeds the limit of five per cent stake acquisition per fiscal year and as per the Takeover code, it will make a mandatory open offer to the shareholders of ACL for acquiring 30.65 crore shares of ACL, representing 20 per cent of the fully diluted equity capital of ACL at a price of Rs. 154 per share.

Holcim expects the transaction, worth a maximum of $1.12 billion, to be completed by the end of November.

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