'Sagar Cements' To Acquire Andhra Cements

Sagar Cements has been declared as the successful bidder for debt-ridden Andhra Cements, a company which was owned by the Jaypee Group and is under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process.

The Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Andhra Cements has voted with a majority in favour of the resolution plan filed by Sagar Cements Ltd, Andhra Cements said in a regulatory filing. "Accordingly, the plan submitted by Sagar Cements Ltd (SCL) has been approved by the CoC and a Letter of Intent has been shared with SCL for their acceptance dated January 13, 2023," it said.

Though the filing has not disclosed the bid amount, according to reports, Dalmia Cement (Bharat) and SCL were competing against each other. "The two resolution plans received by the Resolution Professional were put to vote for consideration and approval of the CoC," it said adding as per the provisions of Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the resolution plan which secured majority of the votes, was considered and approved by the CoC.

In April last year, the Hyderabad bench of National Company Law Tribunal directed to initiate insolvency proceedings against Andhra Cements over a petition filed by Pridhvi Asset Reconstruction and Securitisation Company Ltd, claiming a default.

In a filing earlier, SCL had said :"We have received a communication dated January 13, 2023, from the Resolution Professional of Andhra Cements declaring us as the successful Resolution Applicant along with a Letter of Intent issued to us for the purpose." Andhra Cements has two manufacturing plants. It was acquired by Jaypee Group in 2012 from the Duncan Goenka Group.

The acquisition of Andhra Cements by Hyderabad-based SCL will give a boost to its manufacturing capacity. According to the latest annual report, SCL's total cement capacity is 8.25 million tonne per annum (MTPA). SCL is expanding its presence beyond Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It has commissioned new units at Jeerabad and Jajpur in Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, respectively. In FY22, SCL's revenue was at Rs 1,596.87 crore.