ACC-Ambuja merger deferred indefinitely. India

ACC-Ambuja merger deferred indefinitely. India
22 September 2011


The merger of ACC and Ambuja Cements, the companies controlled by Holcim has been deferred indefinitely, reports Business Standard.

An investment banker, privy to the development, said, “The parent company has been doing creeping acquisition of five per cent every year and the merger is not on the cards. They have a common treasury, marketing and technical advisory, and they are not looking at spending money on merging, as there are some markets where either of them are not present."

 Holcim had reportedly hired consultants to explore the merger option last August.

A senior analyst from a domestic brokerage tracking the company said: “Though they had hired consultants to merge the companies, it had a lot of problems. On branding, unlike Grasim, which was already selling under the UltraTech name, here both the brands sell under their own names and in many markets they sell together. In the south, Ambuja does not sell, but ACC does. Merging would have meant consolidation of brands and it was a tougher call to decide which brand to keep and which to offload. “

Published under Cement News