Jaypee sells Bokaro unit to Dalmia Cement for Rs 690 cr

After selling its Gujarat cement units to the Birlas, the Jaypee group has sold its 74 per cent stake in a Bokaro cement unit to Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd for Rs 690 crore. Jaypee will use the proceeds of the deal to cut debt.

In a statement to stock exchanges, Jaiprakash Associates, which set up the joint venture cement company with Steel Authority of India (SAIL), said transaction worked out to Rs 69.7 a share, against its cost of Rs 18.5 a share.

The stake sale in the 2.1-million-tonnes-a-year plant was subject to various approvals, including SAIL’s, Jaiprakash Associates said.

The Jaiprakash Associates stock closed at Rs 49 on BSE on Monday, up 1.34 per cent.

The Jaypee group, which has debt of about Rs 60,000 crore on its books, has been under pressure from its lenders to sell assets. The company is also in talks to sell stake in its Bhilai steel plant, which has capacity of 2.2 million tonnes a year. Earlier, it had sold its hydro power projects to Abu Dhabi-based funds for Rs 10,500 crore.

Dalmia Cement has manufacturing facilities in Tamil Nadu (Dalmiapuram & Ariyalur) and Andhra Pradesh (Kadapa), with capacity of nine million tonnes a year. Acquisition of the Bokaro plant will provide the company an entry into markets in eastern India.

The company holds 47.3 per cent stake in OCL India Ltd, a major cement company in eastern markets; it has also acquired Adhunik Cement & Calcom Cement in the Northeast. The group, with capacity of 17 million tonnes a year, is the fourth-largest cement company in India. The company has debt of Rs 4,000 crore. For 2012-13, its revenue stood at Rs 3,100 crore, while the net profit was Rs 140 crore.

The New-Delhi headquartered Dalmia Cement was established in 1939. Apart from cement, the Dalmia group also has interests in the sugar, travel, magnesite, refractory and electronic segments.

DEBT RIDDEN

* The Jaypee group, which has debt of about Rs 60,000 crore on its books, has been under pressure from its lenders to sell assets

* The company is also in talks to sell stake in its Bhilai steel plant