Jaiprakash Associates share prices jump 12% on Adani deal reports

The Adani group, currently operating at a capacity of 70 million tonnes per annum, aims to double this figure to 140 million tonnes within the next five years

The share price of Jaiprakash Associates went up by 12 per cent on Wednesday on media reports that the Adani Group is looking to acquire its cement plant in Shahabad in Karnataka with a capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum.

The Adani Group is acquiring rivals and is in talks with several companies to expand its capacity from the present 70 million tonnes to 140 mtpa in the next five years.

The Adani Group did not comment on the issue. Mails sent to Jaiprakash did not elicit a response.

The news of sale of assets by Jaiprakash comes at a time when petitions filed by ICICI Bank and State Bank of India (SBI) for a debt resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, are still pending before the Allahabad Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). ICICI Bank filed its plea in September 2018, while SBI moved the NCLT in September last year.

The delay in the debt resolution in the NCLT has prompted lenders to initiate negotiations for selling part of the loans to National Asset Reconstruction Company.

In December last year, the company had signed an agreement for the divestment of its cement, clinker and power plants, with respective capacities of 9.4 million tonnes per annum, 6.7 million tonnes per annum, and 280 MW, to Dalmia Bharat. 

The cement and power plants, situated in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, were to be divested at an enterprise value of Rs 5,586 crore to Dalmia Bharat. The deal has not been concluded so far.