Companies vie for Lafarge India assets

India’s Economic Times is reporting that private equity groups Blackstone and Apollo Global Management together with CRH are among the companies vying for parts of Lafarge’s Indian business, some of which is being divested in line with competition requirements regarding the merger with Holcim.

Also said to be in the race for the assets, which total 5.2 million t of cement, are Singaporean investment company Temasek, Baring Private Equity Asia and Heidelberg.

The shortlistees are reported to be conducting a study on the assets, with the aim of making a binding offer at the end of six weeks. The Economic Times puts most of the bids in the range of US$850 – 900 million, with one as high as US$1 billion. None of the parties have commented on the report.

The Competition Commission insisted that the assets be sold to relatively smaller players with less than 5% of their total capacity in the areas where the Lafarge assets are being sold, thus ruling out the likes of UltraTech and Dalmia Cement.

CRH won the bid for the majority of assets being disposed by Holcim and Lafarge, beating out competition from Blackstone, among others.

Adapted from source by Katherine Guenioui

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/asia-pacific-rim/05062015/companies-vie-for-lafarge-india-assets-961/