Mumbai: LafargeHolcim on Monday said it has received a revised order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for the divestment of its interest in Lafarge India Pvt. Ltd.
The divestment will include three cement plants and two grinding stations with a total capacity of around 11 million tonnes per annum. “The proposed transaction is an alternate remedy for the merger of the group’s legacy companies and now forms part of the company’s 3.5 billion Swiss francs divestment target in 2016,” the company said in its statement on Monday.
Post the revised divestment, LafargeHolcim will operate in India through two other subsidiaries—ACC Ltd and Ambuja Cement Ltd.
In April 2015, CCI had directed LafargeHolcim to divest from its east India cement assets of 5.15 million tonne to comply with the competition rules and allow a merger between two cement makers Swiss cement manufacturer Holcim and French cement maker Lafarge SA.
LafargeHolcim entered into an agreement with Birla Corp. Ltd to sell these east India assets in August 2015. However, the Rs.5,000 crore deal was called off last week due to regulatory hurdles in the transfer of mining leases.
“LafargeHolcim subsequently entered into a letter agreement with Birla Corp. Ltd, subject to CCI approval, in August 2015. However, due to the current regulatory issues relating to the transfer of mining rights captive and critical to the two plants, LafargeHolcim was obliged to submit an alternate remedy to the CCI to ensure compliance with the order,” LafargeHolcim said in its statement.
On Tuesday, Mint reported LafargeHolcim is expecting Rs.10,000 crore valuation for its 11 million tonne cement portfolio.
