Cement stocks in demand

Shares of 11 cement makers rose by 0.10% to 3.05% at 14:57 IST on BSE on consolidation hopes after media reports suggest the world's two largest cement makers, France's Lafarge and Holcim of Switzerland, agreed the terms of a merger.

Prism Cement (up 3.05%), UltraTech Cement (up 2.97%), Jaiprakash Associates (up 2.65%), Ambuja Cements (up 2.02%), HeidelbergCement India (up 1.40%), ACC (up 1.20%), Mangalam Cement (up 0.79%), India Cements (up 0.61%), Birla Corporation (up 0.48%), Saurastra Cement (up 0.26%) and The Ramco Cement (up 0.10%), edged higher.

Kakatiya Cements (down 2.83%), JK Lakshmi Cement (down 1.61%), Shree Cement (down 0.87%) and J K Cements (down 0.44%), edged lower.

The S&P BSE Sensex was down 72.71 points, or 0.33% at 22,286.79.

Switzerland's Holcim unveiled an all-share deal to buy France's Lafarge to create the world's biggest cement maker with combined sales of 32 billion euros. Lafarge and Holcim of Switzerland, agreed the terms of a merger that would reportedly create a company with a market value of around $55 billion. The new entity, worth just under $60 billion, will see 53% shareholder control for Holcim and 47% for Lafarge, reports added.

As on 31 March 2014, Holcim (India) held 50.01% stake in ACC and 9.75% stake in Ambuja Cements.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News