UltraTech to buy 8.69% stake in Meghalaya-based Star Cement for Rs 851 cr

Aditya Birla Group company to expand presence in East India with new acquisition

UltraTech Cement said on Friday it will invest Rs 851 crore to pick an 8.6 percent stake in the Meghalaya-based Star Cement, which has 7.7 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) capacity in East India.

 

UltraTech, in a stock exchange statement, said some promoter and promoter group entities of Star Cement have approached it to sell their equity holding. UltraTech’s board on Friday approved acquiring a non-controlling minority stake of up to 37 million equity shares of Star Cement at a price not exceeding Rs 235 apiece, excluding taxes.

 

UltraTech is India’s largest cement maker, with 150.7 million tonnes of capacity in India as of October 2024. The Aditya Birla Group company plans to expand capacity to 200 MTPA by 2028. 

 

 

UltraTech has made two other major acquisitions in recent years. Earlier this month, the company completed its acquisition of India Cements to make the South India cement maker its subsidiary in a deal of Rs 7,100 crore. In November 2023, UltraTech signed a deal to take over Kesoram Industries’ cement business at an enterprise value of Rs 7600 crore. The 150.7 MTPA figure for UltraTech's current capacity does not include the nearly 25 MTPA combined capacities from the Kesoram and India Cements deal.

 

Star Cement will add to UltraTech’s indirect exposure to India’s eastern markets. On its own, UltraTech operates 30.7 MTPA capacity in this region, with plans to take it to 41 MTPA by FY27.

 

In 12 months, UltraTech and its closest rival, Adani-promoted Ambuja Cements, have been on an acquisition spree. Adani’s Ambuja Cements’ recent acquisitions include South-India based Orient Cement and Penna Cement and Sanghi Industries in Gujarat.