French cement major Lafarge SA, the world's second-largest cement maker, has emerged the frontrunner in the race to acquire the ready-mix concrete (RMC) business of engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T).
The construction giant sold its cement business to the Birlas in 2003, now UltraTech Cement, but retained the RMC division. The company is the leader in the RMC segment with a market share of 25 per cent. The revenue is Rs 1,000 crore annually.
In December last year, L&T had decided to hive off its RMC business into a separate entity called L&T Concrete. The company's plans to hive off its non-core businesses.
L&T has 66 RMC plants across the country with an overall annual installed capacity of around 4 million cubic metres.Industry analysts said RMC constitutes 3 per cent of the total cement business at present, but the growth opportunities are enormous with spending on infrastructure on the rise.
Lafarge entered the Indian market in 1999, with the acquisition of Tata Steel's cement business. This acquisition was followed by the Raymond Cement facility in 2001.Swiss cement major Holcim was also in the race as both cement firms see this business as the future of the cement industry.
Read more in The Business Standard article.
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