Ambuja Cements, ACC down after Holcim tweaks stakes

Moneycontrol Bureau

Shares of Ambuja Cements and ACC Ltd declined 9 percent and 2.39 percent to Rs 174 and Rs 1202.55 respectively after Swiss giant Holcim announced on Wednesday that it would increase its stake in Ambuja Cements as part of a restructuring Indian operations.  Holcim will increase its shareholding in Ambuja to 61.39 percent from the current stake of just over 50 percent, the Zurich-based firm added. Read This: See no advantage in Holcim - Ambuja merger: Anil Singhvi

Ambuja Cements will issue 58.4 crore shares to Holcim in a proposed merger swap ratio of 6.6 Ambuja shares for 1 ACC share. Ambuja will in turn acquire Holcim's 50.0-percent stake in ACC Ltd. Both Ambuja and ACC will continue to operate as separate entities. "The transaction is expected to be neutral on Holcim's earnings per share in the first full year following the completion of the transaction and accretive thereafter", said Holcim chief executive Bernard Fontana. According to terms of the deal, Ambuja Cements will acquire a 24-percent stake in Holcim India for Rs 3,500 crore and Holcim India will be merged into Ambuja via an all-stock merger.