Nirma to buy Lafarge India's cement plants from LafargeHolcim for $1.4 billion

Nirma has pipped two foreign firms, in addition to Sajjan Jindal's JSW Group and the Ajay Piramal Group, to acquire Lafarge India's assets for $1.4 billion. The units comprise three cement plants and two grinding stations with a total capacity of around 11 million tonnes per annum.

The deal will be subject to approval by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

"LafargeHolcim announces it has entered into a letter agreement with Nirma Limited subject to approval by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for the divestment of its interest in Lafarge India for an enterprise value of approximately USD 1.4 billion," LafargeHolcim said in a statement on Monday.

The company added that the proceeds from the sale will be utilised to reduce its debt.

LafargeHolcim's India presence will continue to have its presence through its subsidiaries ACC Ltd. and Ambuja Cements Ltd, which have a combined cement capacity of over 60 million tonnes.

Last week, five bidders, iincluding three Indian and two foreign players, were finalised as contenders for Lafarge's entire India operations. The five firms were Ajay Piramal Group, Nirma, Sajjan Jindal's JSW Cement, Mexico's Cemex and China's Anhui Conch Cement Company.

The Nirma Group of companies has interests in soap, detergents, industrial salt and soda ash. 

The India assets sale is part of LafargeHolcim's larger divestment programme for the year.

"This agreement is an important step in our CHF 3.5 billion divestment program. With this deal, two thirds of the program has been secured and the remainder of the program is well on track. We are confident that we will meet our target by the end of this year," Eric Olsen, CEO of LafargeHolcim, said in the statement.

The company has sold its South Korean business and is on course to its minority shareholding in Saudi Arabia.