LafargeHolcim considers revised divestment of interest in Lafarge India

RSS8161 LafargeHolcim says it is considering a revised divestment of its interest in 725 Lafarge India, which has an annual cement capacity of around 11 million tonnes. The divestment would require the approval of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) as an alternate remedy for the merger of the Group’s legacy companies.

The Group is no longer in discussion with Birla Corporation Limited (BCL) for the sale of the Jojobera and Sonadih cement plants in Eastern India. The BCL proposal involved the divestment of 5.1 million tonnes capacity by Lafarge India. Both BCL as buyer and the sale agreement with BCL were subject to approval by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) along with other regulatory approvals and customary conditions. Due to the current regulatory issues relating to the transfer of mining rights captive and critical to the two plants, LafargeHolcim was obliged to submit an alternate remedy to the CCI to ensure compliance with the order.

The alternate remedy is now under consideration by the CCI. The Group remains in dialogue with the CCI and will communicate any further updates to the divestment process in India in due time.