Radhakishan Damani, promoter of Avenue Supermarts, is eyeing a piece of Ambuja Cements pie, according to a report by the Business Standard quoting sources.
The billionaire, who runs the DMart chain of retail stores, is reportedly looking to join hands with other potential bidders to invest up to Rs 10,000 crore in Ambuja Cements as a financial partner.
Holcim, the world’s biggest cement maker, has been considering a potential sale of businesses in India, including Ambuja Cements Ltd.
According to the report, Damani owns a 23 per cent stake in India Cements, a South India-based cement company. "Damani is keen to increase his exposure to the cement sector and wants to join hands with a consortium or a private equity firm. He is not interested in the day-to-day running of operations. The ball is now in the court of bidders like the Adani and JSW groups," a banker close to the development told the publication.
Holcim controls 63.1 per cent of Ambuja, which has a market value of about $9.6 billion (Rs 73,094.4 crore).
Founded in 1983, Ambuja has a cement capacity of 31 million metric tonnes and has six integrated manufacturing plants and eight cement grinding units in India, its website shows. Its subsidiaries include ACC Ltd., which is also publicly traded.
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