[Original] India's UltraTech Wants to Acquire Jaiprakash Cement Plant

   UltraTech, a subsidiary of Bola Group (Aditya Birla Group)

   According to insiders, India's UltraTech is in talks with Jaiprakash (Jaiprakash Associates Ltd) to acquire cement plants in central and southern India. The negotiations include the acquisition of cement plants in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

   According to Jaiprakash's official website in December, the group has at least five cement plants in these areas, with a total annual cement production capacity of 18.25 million tons and a total annual cement production capacity of 26.65 million tons.

   Kumar Mangalam Birla, head of UltraTech Group, India's largest building materials producer, said in November that the group would expand its cement production capacity by 61% to 100 million tons within a decade.

   According to Bloomberg, Jaiprakash Group's debt has nearly quadrupled in five years, forcing the group to sell assets to reduce its huge debt. At present, UltraTech has not made a final decision on which cement plant to acquire, and may acquire some assets.

   Last year, UltraTech acquired Jaiprakash's 4.8 million tonne per year cement plant in Gujarat. Jaiprakash plans to repay some of its debt by selling its cement factory and power plant by March 15 next year.

   Editor's note : Jaiprakash is a diversified Indian infrastructure conglomerate with interests in engineering construction, cement, power, real estate, highways, fertilizer, hospitality, healthcare, sports, information technology and education (not for profit).