Adani Group leads race for 46.64% of ITD Cementation India in $700-mn deal: Report

Led by Gautam Adani, the infrastructure conglomerate is expanding its vast portfolio, which includes airports, highways, ports, power plants, and real estate projects.

The Adani Group has emerged as the frontrunner to acquire a 46.64 percent promoter stake in ITD Cementation India. The acquisition is expected to strengthen its in-house civil engineering capabilities, according to sources cited in an Economic Times report. The deal, valued at Rs 5,888.57 crore ($700 million) at the current market price, includes a fully subscribed open offer following the promoter stake purchase.

Led by Gautam Adani, the infrastructure conglomerate is expanding its vast portfolio, which includes airports, highways, ports, power plants, and real estate projects. An agreement between the parties was reportedly reached earlier this week, with an official announcement expected soon. However, these details have not been verified independently, the report added.

ITD Cementation India, an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) company, has roots going back to pre-Independence days. Its current promoter, Italian-Thai Development Public Co, held a 46.64 percent stake as of the June quarter. In July, the company informed stock exchanges that its promoters were planning to sell off their stakes but were in the early stages with no definitive agreements in place.

Neither Adani Group, Italian-Thai Development, nor ITD Cementation responded to ET's requests for comments. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

Adani is believed to have outbid competitors, including Abu Dhabi's top dredging company and the RPG Group's KEC International.

India’s cement sector is witnessing heightened competition as Gautam Adani’s aggressive expansion challenges Kumar Mangalam Birla’s UltraTech Cement Ltd. The two business magnates are vying to control a key building material essential to India’s infrastructure boom. In less than two years, Adani and UltraTech have completed six acquisitions, with Birla’s UltraTech recently announcing a seventh. Several smaller competitors remain up for grabs.

Adani’s cement business, which includes Ambuja Cements and ACC Ltd, is targeting a 20 percent share of the Indian cement market by FY28. According to an investor presentation from Ambuja Cements, Adani Cement plans to fund its expansion through internal accruals and aims to remain debt-free. The company expects to accelerate capacity growth by 16 percent annually, reaching 140 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) by FY2028.