Jaiprakash in US$ 600 million Gujarat cement sale

Indian cement producer Jaiprakash Associates has agreed to sell a 4.8 million tonnes a year capacity unit in Gujarat to UltraTech Cement for INR 3,800 crore (US$ 600 million).

UltraTech is India’s largest cement producer by capacity, and the deal will see the amount it can produce per year rise to 59 million tonnes.

The deal comes after Irish producer CRH ended negotiations with Japyee – the parent company of Jaiprakash – in October last year over the possible acquisition of facilities in Gujarat.

Jaiprakash, which currently has a cement production capacity of 36.8 million tonnes, is reported be seeking to raise funds to reduce its debt.