LafargeHolcim receives revised CCI divestment order

8161 LafargeHolcim has received a revised order from 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 tonnes/year.

The company also markets aggregates and is one of India’s leading ready-mix concrete manufacturers.

The proposed transaction is an alternate remedy for the merger of the group’s’s legacy companies and now forms part of the company’s CHF 3.5 billion (US$3.35 billion)  divestment target in 2016.

“We will operate in India through our subsidiaries 4577 ACC and 4380 Ambuja Cements with a combined cement capacity of around 63 million tonnes and a distribution network that extends across the entire country. We see opportunities to further build our business in India through our network of over 100,000 dealers and retailers, and by meeting the infrastructure needs of a country that is experiencing significant urbanisation,” says Eric Olsen, CEO LafargeHolcim.

The conditional clearance by the CCI for an earlier divestment proposal was received in April 2015; including the divestment of Jojobera and Sonadih plants in Eastern India with a cement capacity of 5.1 million tonnes.

LafargeHolcim subsequently entered into a letter agreement with Birla Corporation, subject to CCI approval, in August 2015. However, 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.

As a result, LafargeHolcim will now launch a new divestment process for Lafarge India.

LafargeHolcim has announced that Martin Kriegner, currently Area Manager Central Europe, will be appointed Head of India, effective 1 March 2016. He will report to Eric Olsen, Group CEO and succeed Bernard Terver who has decided to retire.

Martin Kriegner joined LafargeHolcim in 1990 and has previously held several senior leadership positions in the Group, including CFO and CEO of the Group operations in Austria as well as Head of Lafarge India and Regional President Cement for Asia. He graduated from Vienna University with a Doctorate in Law and obtained an MBA at the University of Economics in Vienna. Martin Kriegner is an Austrian national.