ACC MD Sumit Banerjee resigns; may join Anil Ambani group

Leading cement maker ACC's Managing Director Sumit Banerjee has resigned from the company and is soon likely to join Anil Ambani group to spearhead the latter's cement business.

In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, ACC today said Banerjee has submitted his resignation to the company and the board will consider the same in a meeting scheduled for July.

Although there was no formal word, industry sources said Banerjee will join Anil Ambani-led ADAG's cement division Reliance Cementation, which has envisaged huge investments in the sector.

When contacted, an ADAG spokesperson declined to comment. Repeated calls and SMSes sent to Banerjee remained unanswered.

"ADAG is very aggressively looking at the cement business and for that they need an expert like Banerjee. He is likely to join very soon," a source said.

Last year, Anil Ambani Group had announced ambitious expansion plans with Rs 10,000 crore investment to set up cement plants in Maharashtra with a total capacity of 20 million tonnes per annum over the next five years that will make the firm one of the top five players in this sector.

ACC on its part said: "His (Banerjee's) resignation and the appointment of his successor will be considered by the board at the next meeting of the directors of the company being scheduled in the third week/end of July 2010."

ACC is the country's leading manufacturer with 16 cement plants and over 40 ready-mix-concrete units, employing 10,000 people across the country. Its current production capacity stands at 26 million tonnes per annum and it will touch 30 million tonnes a year by the end of this year.