Reliance infrastructure, a part of Anil Ambani led Reliance Group, said it plans to sell its 5.8 million tonnes of cement plants to Birla Corp for a total of Rs 4,800 crores.
The unit of Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Cement Company Pvt Ltd, has an integrated plant of 5.8 million tons at Maihar in Madhya Pradesh and Kundanganj in Uttar Pradesh, and also a grinding unit of 0.5 million tons at Butibori in Maharashtra.
Birla Corp is a flagship company of the MP Birla Group. The proposed deal values the cement business at $140 per tonne.
Reliance Infrastructure said it plans to utilise the money it will get from the sale to reduce its debt. The deal, if it fructifies will help improve the earnings per share (EPS) of Reliance infra shareholders.
The agreement is subject to formal approval from Competition Commission of India and other regulatory authorities. SBI Capital Markets helped Reliance infra as financial advisor for the transaction.
Following the announcement shares of Reliance Infrastructure traded 3.1 per cent higher at Rs 422.40 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.