Live Mint cites two people familiar with the development in a report suggesting that UltraTech Cement Ltd’s will back out of its bid for Holcim’s Brazilian assets. The bid submitted in October was non-binding, with the binding stage due in January. The sources reportedly said that after visiting the assets they do not see much value in the investment and prefer instead to invest that money in the domestic market. The company, which is part of the Aditya Birla group, was keen to expand its presence outside India, and acquiring existing facilities would have been a shortcut to achieving that growth. Besides South America, UltraTech has also pinpointed the Asia Pacific Rim region as an area of interest.
Holcim is selling three integrated cement plants and two grinding plants in Brazil with a combined capacity of 3.6 million tpy, together with one ready-mix concrete plant.
Adapted from source by Katherine Guenioui