Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd today announced an increase in stake in OCL India from 21.7 per cent to 45.4 per cent.
“The acquisition was completed at an all-cash deal at the ruling market price,” the company said in a filing in the Bombay Stock Exchange.
The acquisition cost of the OCL stake at $50 per tonne is much below the replacement cost for a cement plant. The acquisition is at the enterprise value of OCL without assigning any value to the refractory business, it said. With the expansion in the footprint in the Eastern region, the company has become a two- region player. The company currently has cement plants in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh with a capacity of 9 million tonnes per annum. OCL India is engaged in the cement and refractory business and has a strong presence in the eastern region of the country.
“As a first step toward a pan-Indian player, we have extended our cement footprint from the southern region to East India. We now have an access to the high growth in eastern market. With this strategic investment, our profitability is likely to improve further,” DCBL Managing Director Puneet Dalmia said. The present capacity of Dalmia cement is nine million tonnes and that of OCL India, 5.3 million tonnes.
