Adani Group’s Ambuja Cements acquires 47 pc stake in Orient Cement for Rs 8,100 crore

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Adani Group’s Ambuja Cements Acquires 47 pc Stake In Orient Cement For Rs 8,1...

Adani Group’s Ambuja Cements Acquires 47 pc Stake In Orient Cement For Rs 8,100 Crore

by Utkalika Mohanty

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Ambuja Cements, the cement and building material company of the diversified Adani Group, on Tuesday announced to acquire Orient Cement Ltd (OCL) at an equity value of Rs 8,100 crore.

New Delhi, Oct 22: Ambuja Cements, the cement and building material company of the diversified Adani Group, on Tuesday announced to acquire Orient Cement Ltd (OCL) at an equity value of Rs 8,100 crore.

Ambuja will acquire 46.8 per cent shares of OCL from its current promoters and certain public shareholders and the acquisition will be fully funded through internal accruals, the company said in a statement.

The acquisition of OCL complements Ambuja’s existing cement footprint, reducing overall lead distances and logistics costs for the cement business and improving market share in our core markets, it said.

“This timed acquisition marks another significant step forward in Ambuja Cements’ accelerated growth journey, increasing cement capacity by 30 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) within two years of Ambuja’s acquisition,” said Karan Adani, Director of Ambuja Cements.

“By acquiring OCL, Ambuja is poised to reach 100 MTPA cement capacity in FY25. The acquisition will help to expand Adani Cements’ presence in core markets and improve its pan-India market share by 2 per cent,” Karan Adani added.

OCL has 5.6 MTPA clinker capacity and 8.5 MTPA cement capacity, along with statutory clearance to increase the clinker capacity by another 6.0 MTPA and cement capacity by another 8.1 MTPA.

In addition, OCL also has a limestone mining lease in Chittorgarh for setting up an Integrated Unit (IU) with clinker of 4 MTPA and a split Grinding Unit (GU) of 6 MTPA in North India.

“OCL’s assets are highly efficient, equipped with railway sidings and well supported by captive power plants, renewable energy, WHRS and AFR facilities. OCL’s strategic locations, high-quality limestone reserves and requisite statutory approvals present an opportunity to increase cement capacity in the near term to 16.6 MTPA,” said Karan Adani.

OCL has secured a concession from MPPGCL, Madhya Pradesh for setting up a Grinding Unit within the premises of the Satpura Thermal Power Plant.

Both these complement the Adani Group’s existing cement footprint.

CK Birla, Chairman of Orient Cement and the CK Birla Group, said they are confident that the Adani Group, with its strong focus on cement and infrastructure, is the ideal new owner to drive continued growth at Orient Cement for our people and stakeholders.

Ambuja, with its subsidiaries ACC Ltd, Penna Cement Industries Ltd and Sanghi Industries Ltd, has taken the Adani Group’s cement capacity to 88.9 MTPA, with 20 integrated cement manufacturing plants, 20 cement grinding units and 12 bulk terminals across the country.

--IANS

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Notification Issued For Second Phase Of Jharkhand Assembly Polls

by Utkalika Mohanty

Ranchi, Oct 22: The Election Commission on Tuesday issued notification for the second phase of the Jharkhand Assembly elections, covering 38 seats, starting the nomination process for candidates. Polling for this phase is scheduled for November 20.

Candidates can file their nominations until October 29, with the scrutiny of forms set for October 30. The last day for withdrawing nominations is November 1.

The first phase of polling, covering 43 seats, will take place on November 13. The notification for first phase elections was issued on October 18, and candidates can submit their nominations until October 25 for the first phase. Scrutiny will be conducted on October 28, and the deadline for withdrawals is October 30.

More than 30 candidates have already filed their nominations for the first phase, both online and offline submissions are being accepted.

The seats covered in the second phase include Rajmahal, Borio, Barhait, Littipara, Pakur, Maheshpur, Shikaripara, Nala, Jamtara, Dumka, Jama, Jarmundi, Madhupur, Sarath, Deoghar, Poreyahat, Godda, Mahagama, Ramgarh, Mandu, Dhanwar, Bagodar, Jamua, Gandey, Giridih, Dumri, Gomia, Bermo, Bokaro, Chandankyari, Sindri, Nirsa, Dhanbad, Jharia, Tundi, Baghmara, Silli and Khijri.

Approximately 2.6 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in these elections, with 29,562 polling stations set up across the state. Of these, 5,042 booths are located in urban areas, with an average of 881 voters per booth.

The electoral contest is mainly between the NDA and the India Bloc. The NDA has announced candidates for 77 out of 81 seats, while Congress, a member of the India Bloc, has released its list of candidates for 21 seats.

However, JMM, RJD, and CPI(ML) are yet to officially declare their candidates, though a few notable JMM candidates have already filed nominations, including Mithilesh Thakur (Garhwa), Anant Pratap Dev (Bhawanathpur), Sanjeev Sardar (Potka), and Mangal Kalindi (Jugsalai).

The counting of votes is scheduled for November 23. In the first phase, elections will be held in 43 constituencies while in the second phase, 38 seats will go to polls out of a total of 81 seats.

--IANS

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PM Modi Reaches Russia, To Meet Leaders On Sidelines Of BRICS Summit In Kazan

by Utkalika Mohanty

Kazan, Oct 22: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday reached the Russian city of Kazan to participate in the 16th BRICS Summit, at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The summit, themed 'Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security', will provide an important platform for world leaders to discuss key global issues.

"India values the close cooperation within BRICS which has emerged as an important platform for dialogue and discussion on issues concerning the global developmental agenda, reformed multilateralism, climate change, economic cooperation, building resilient supply chains, promoting cultural and people to people connect, among others. The expansion of BRICS with the addition of new members last year has added to its inclusivity and agenda for the global good," PM Modi said in his departure statement on Tuesday morning.

"Building upon the Annual Summit held in July 2024 in Moscow, my visit to Kazan will further reinforce the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia. I look forward to meeting other leaders from BRICS as well," he added.

Besides participating in the summit, which will offer a valuable opportunity to assess the progress of initiatives launched by BRICS and to identify potential areas for future collaboration, the Prime Minister is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from BRICS member countries and invited leaders.

In the meetings in narrow and expanded formats, the BRICS leaders are expected to exchange views on current issues on the global and regional agenda, and discuss the three main areas of cooperation outlined by the Russian chairmanship - politics and security, economics and finance, and cultural and humanitarian contacts.

Particular attention will be paid to the issues of possible expansion of BRICS through the planned establishment of a new category of partner states for the unification.

During the summit, reports from the chairman of the New Development Bank, the Business Council, the Interbank Cooperation Mechanism, and the Women's Business Alliance will also be heard.

The results of the discussion will be summarised in the Kazan Summit Declaration.

On Wednesday, a meeting will be held in the 'outreach/BRICS plus' format with the participation of representatives from almost 40 countries. Among them are leaders of the CIS countries, delegations from many countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, as well as heads of executive bodies of a number of international organisations.

According to the Kremlin, it is planned to discuss current international problems with an emphasis on the aggravated situation in the Middle East and the interaction of the BRICS countries and the Global South in the interests of sustainable development.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold bilateral meetings with almost all leaders participating in the summit.

--IANS

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Sudan: 10 Killed In Paramilitary Forces Attack

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

Khartoum, Oct 22: More than 10 people have been killed in an attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on cities and villages in central Sudan, a local non-governmental group announced.

"Yesterday (Sunday) and today (Monday), large numbers of the Janjaweed militia attacked the eastern region of Gezira State and committed massacres in Tamboul and Rufaa cities as well as several villages," the non-governmental resistance committee in Wad Madani, the capital city of the Gezira state, said in a statement on Monday.

"The militia killed more than ten people and injured a large number of others according to what has been counted so far," the committee noted.

On Sunday, eyewitnesses said that the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) took control of Tamboul city after the RSF Commander in central Sudan, Abu Aqla Keikel, surrendered himself with his forces to the SAF, reports Xinhua news agency.

However, the resistance committees in Rufaa city said in a statement on Monday that RSF units on Sunday evening launched a counter-attack on the city and forced the SAF to withdraw.

The committees described the RSF attacks on Tamboul and other eastern Gezira villages as "reprisal operations."

The paramilitary forces have not yet commented on the attacks.

The RSF took control of Gezira State in December 2023 after the SAF withdrew from Wad Madani.

Sudan has been ravaged by a deadly conflict between the SAF and the RSF since mid-April 2023. According to a situation report issued by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project on October 14, the deadly conflict has resulted in more than 24,850 deaths.

--IANS

Adani Group’s Ambuja Cements acquires 47 pc stake in Orient Cement for Rs 8,100 crore

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