Reliance ADAG chairman Anil Ambani (right) and AlmazAntey vice-chairman V.F. Medovnikov shake hands in Moscow on Thursday. — PTI
Reliance ADAG chairman Anil Ambani (right) and AlmazAntey vice-chairman V.F. Medovnikov shake hands in Moscow on Thursday. — PTI
Reliance Infrastructure is in the advanced stage of negotiations to sell its cement business and a deal can be announced as early as this week as the Anil Ambani-led firm tries to cut debt.
The Mumbai-based firm is in talks with buyers — both domestic and foreign — to sell its cement and road business, in which it has invested over '15,000 crore, that will be utilised to cut debt and also to fund its foray into defence manufacturing.
The company is in advanced stage of negotiations with seven prospective buyers, out of the initial 15 parties, and the deal can be finalised anytime now, a source said.
An announcement can be made after the company chairman Anil Ambani returns from Russia. The buyers include Blackstone, Carlyle and KKR.
Mr Ambani, who is accompanying Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his two-day Russia visit, is likely to return on Friday night. If this gets delayed, the final deal can be announced early next week, a person in know of the development said.
“The cement deal is in the range of '5,000-6,000 crore and the company expects to get close to 50 per cent of the amount after paring the debt,” he added.
Reliance Cement, which has an annual capacity of 5.5 million tonnes, started operations in 2007. It has plants at Maihar in Madhya Pradesh (2.8 million tonne per annum), Kundanganj in Uttar Pradesh (2.2 MTPA) and Butibori in Maharashtra (0.5 MTPA).
Reliance Infrastructure, with a net worth of over $4 billion, is trying to sell its non-core assets, including the road business to pare debt and fund expansion in the defence manufacturing sector, which the group feels will be the primary driver for future growth.
