Bidding for Emami Cement to commence mid-Jan, Ultratech ahead in race

Emami Group has decided to monetise its cement assets to pare debt and aims to become debt-free at the group level by the end of the current fiscal year

Bidding for the acquisition of Emami Cement is likely to commence by mid-January with the Aditya Birla Group’s UltraTech Cement leading the race at an offer price of Rs 6,500-7,000 crore in an all-cash deal, sources said.

Emami Group has decided to monetise its cement assets to become debt-free at the group level by the end of this financial year. The cement company had a total debt of Rs 2,246.76 crore as of March 31, 2018, consisting of Rs 2,093.86 crore as secured term loan from banks and financial institutions and Rs 152.90 crore working capital borrowings from the banks.