LafargeHolcim has announced that it has received a revised order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for the divestment of its interest in Lafarge India, including three cement plants and two grinding stations with a total capacity of around 11 million tpy. The proposed transaction is an alternate solution for the merger of the Group’s legacy companies and now forms part of the company’s CHF3.5 billion divestment target in 2016.
The conditional clearance by the CCI for an earlier divestment proposal was received in April 2015, including the divestment of the Jojobera and Sonadih plants in Eastern India. In August 2015, LafargeHolcim subsequently entered into a letter agreement with Birla CorporaTion Ltd., subject to CCI approval. However, the current regulatory issues relating to the transfer of mining rights which are captive and critical to the two plants, meant that LafargeHolcim was obliged to submit an alternate remedy to the CCI to ensure compliance with the order.
As a result, LafargeHolcim will now launch a new divestment process for Lafarge India.
Adapted from press release by Rebecca Bowden