Adani Becomes Second Largest Cement Producer
Soon after acquiring the distinction of the world's second richest man, Gautam Adani's Adani group has become the second largest cement producer in India after successfully completing its acquisition of Ambuja Cements and ACC on Friday. Given its energy, real estate, energy, and infrastructure business, venturing into the cement industry served as a next logical step. The stocks of Ambuja Cement and ACC declined 4.17 percent and 5.1 percent on Friday.
Adani Group had to shell $6.4 billion in cash to acquire 54.5 per cent holding in ACC Ltd, and the Switzerland-based Holcim's 63.1 per cent stake in Ambuja Cements Ltd . The Holcim divestment is the company's latest attempt to lower their carbon footprint, given that cement production is a highly polluting business. This serves as a good opportunity to imprive their ESG (Environment Social and Governance) points.
When seen in numbers Ambuja and ACC combined can produce a minimum of 70 million ton of cement annually. Together, they employ over 10,700 people across the 31 cement manufacturing sites of Ambuja and ACC.
