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Journalism of Courage
India’s Adani Group has pledged shares worth about $12.5 billion in two cement units, days after the conglomerate controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani completed purchase of stakes in those businesses from Switzerland’s Holcim.
The agreement will be in the form of a non-disposal undertaking, under which Adani will not be able to offload the shares until the lender agrees that the debt is paid.
The encumbered shares of ACC and Ambuja were worth around 989.46 billion indian rupees ($12.40 billion) based on Monday’s closing prices and accounted for a 57% stake in ACC and a 63% stake in Ambuja Cements.
Deutsche Bank AG’s Hong Kong branch, which is the agent for the shares in ACC and Ambuja, made the disclosure in filings to India’s stock exchanges on Tuesday. (https://bityl.co/EZE6) (https://bityl.co/EZEE)
ACC shares, which had climbed 3.2% on Tuesday, dropped 1.7% in Wednesday’s session, while Ambuja slipped 1.8% after a 1.7% gain.
The group in May announced the acquisition of Holcim’s cement businesses in India for $10.5 billion to become the country’s No. 2 cement manufacturer.
After the completion of the deal, Adani said on Saturday that production capacity at the cement units was expected to double by 2027.
Adani, the world’s second-richest man after Elon Musk, has made inroads into several sectors this year, ranging from media companies to cement giants, in a deal-making spree that has raised concerns about his group’s debt levels.
($1 = 79.8230 Indian rupees)
