By Business India Editorial

Gautam Adani-led Adani Group has acquired Holcim’s stake in Ambuja Cements and its subsidiary ACC for $10.5 billion (around Rs81,361 crore).

At present, Aditya Birla group, which owns the brand UltraTech cement, is India's top cement producer with a capacity of 117 metric tonnes per annum. Aditya Birla Group was also in the race to buy Holcim’s stake after the company announced its exit from India.

However, Adani Group bagging the deal is being seen as a major win for the conglomerate. After the expansion, Adani has become India's second-largest cement manufacturer, with a capacity of 70 metric tonnes per annum.

Holcim holds 63.19 per cent in Ambuja Cements and 4.48 percent in ACC Ltd. Ambuja Cements, in turn, owns 50.05 per cent in ACC.

“Our belief in the India story is unshakeable. Combining Holcim’s cement assets in India with our green energy and logistics will make us the world’s greenest cement company,” Gautam Adani, Group Chairman, Adani tweeted after the announcement.

Holcim has said it plans to focus on the group's ‘strategy 2025’ aimed at developing sustainable solutions for the building materials sector.

“Our move into the cement business is yet another validation of our belief in our nation’s growth story,” said Adani.

“Not only is India expected to remain one of the world’s largest demand-driven economies for several decades, but India also continues to be the world’s second-largest cement market yet has less than half of the global average per capita cement consumption. In statistical comparison, China's cement consumption is over 7x India’s,” said Adani.

“When these factors are combined with the several adjacencies of our existing businesses, include the Adani Group’s ports and logistics business, energy business, and real estate business, we believe that we will be able to build a uniquely integrated and differentiated business model and set ourselves up for significant capacity expansion,” he added.