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LafargeHolcim Ltd has received five final bids for Lafarge’s India assets that the Franco-Swiss company is forced to sell to win antitrust approval following a merger that created the world’s largest cement maker, said four people directly familiar with the matter.

 

Piramal Enterprises Ltd, JSW Cement Ltd, Nirma Ltd, China’s Anhui Conch Cement Co. and Mexico’s Cemex SAB have submitted their bids, three people cited above said, requesting anonymity.

 

“At present, bids have been submitted alone by the bidders, but JSW Cement is being backed by a private equity fund for the transaction,” said one of the persons mentioned above. Mint could not independently ascertain the name of the fund that is backing the Sajjan Jindal-controlled cement maker.

 

A fifth person involved in the process said that another entity may submit a bid by Tuesday.

 

“The bids are more or less in the range of Rs.8,000-9,000 crore. Earlier, it was pegged to be around Rs.10,000 crore, but after the initial due diligence the valuation has come down,” said a second person cited above.

 

JSW, Cemex and Piramal Enterprises declined to comment. A Nirma spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment. Mint could not reach Anhui Conch either.

 

The value of the transaction may increase after the final negotiations are concluded, said Deepak Ladha, India head at investment bank Global M&A Partners.

 

“These are the first set of serious final bids that have come. Once the entire process comes down to one or two final bidders, then there would be upward revision in the deal value,” Ladha said.

 

Among the bidders that had shown interest in the initial rounds were Goldman Sachs Group Inc., CVC Capital Partners, Irish cement maker CRH Plc., Blackstone Group, CPP Investment Board, Ramco Group and Carlyle Group, Mint had reported on 9 May.

 

Lafarge is selling its entire 11 million tonne capacity to meet a Competition Commission of India merger condition. Lafarge owns cement capacity across Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Haryana and West Bengal through its unit, Lafarge India Pvt. Ltd.

Source: Livemint.com