Birla Corporation and Lafarge India deal falls through

Reuters are reporting that after a pact to buy some of the assets of LafargeHolcim fell through, India's Birla Corporation plans to take legal action against the Indian unit of the company.

In April, LafargeHolcim decided to divest two of its Indian plants to win approval from the local anti-trust regulator to merge Indian assets of Lafarge and Holcim.

Birla Corp announced in August that it had entered into an agreement with Lafarge to purchase the two cement businesses in eastern India for an enterprise value of US$735 million.

On 2 February Birla Corp stated in a message to the Bombay Stock Exchange that it had now been informed about Lafarge India unit's ‘inability to proceed’ with the transaction.

"The company has since discussed the matter with its legal advisors and has decided not to accept their contention and is in the process of taking appropriate legal measures in consultation with lawyers," it said.

The deal to acquire the two plants would have taken Birla Corp's cement production capacity to over 15 million tpy.

LafargeHolcim announced in a statement that it was no longer in talks with Birla Corp for the divestment of the Jojobera and Sonadih cement plants in eastern India. The company said it would inform the local anti-trust regulator about the divestment process.

Edited from source by Joseph Green. Source: Reuters

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/indian-subcontinent/03022016/birla-corporation-lafarge-india-deal-falls-through-439/