JSW Steel’s acquisition of HeidelbergCement India’s Raigad grinding plant has received the approval of the Competition Commission of India. The deal was finalised in October and has since been going through the CCI approval process. The CCI’s decision was based on the fact that the 0.6 million tpa plant will not add significantly to JSW Steel’s total cement production capacity.
Plans for the sale, which was set as a going concern on a slump basis, were initially announced in May 2013. The deal was made through JSW Steel’s associate firm, JSW Ispat Steel. The grinding plant will be able to make use of the company’s supply of blastfurnace slag from its steel works.
The deal is part of HeidelbergCement’s targeted divestment of less strategic assets with lower margins, which will enable it to focus on more key operations, such as its recently expanded 5 million t cement plant in Central India.Edited from various sources by Katherine Guenioui