N Srinivasan resigns as CEO and MD of India Cements as Aditya Birla Group takes control

N Srinivasan on Wednesday stepped down as chief executive officer and managing director of India Cements, as Aditya Birla Group flagship UltraTech took control of the South India based cement maker, in deal worth over Rs7,000 crore.

India Cements Ltd (ICL) in a communique to stock exchanges said that Srinivasan stepped down as vice chairman and managing director of India Cements on completion of the sale and the cessation of control by the existing promoters over the company.

Besides Srinivasan, his wife Chitra Srinivasan, daughter Rupa Gurunath and V M Mohan have also stepped down from the board of the company, according to the filing.

The development follows UltraTech Cement acquiring an additional 32.72 per cent equity stake in India Cements, raising the total holding of the Aditya Birla Group in India Cements to 55.49 per cent.

India Cements, in its exchange filing said UltraTech first acquired 7,05,64,656 equity shares (22.77 per cent) and followed it up with the acquisition of another 10,13,91,231 equity shares (32.72 per cent) taking its total holding in India Cements to 17,19,55,887 equity share (55.49 per cent).

Further, UltraTech has announced a Rs3,142.35 crore open offer to acquire an additional 26 per cent share of India Cements from shareholders.

The acquisition is widely seen as part of the ongoing tussle between the Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Aditya Birla Group and Gautam Adani’s Adani Group.

The transaction expands UltraTech’s footprint in the fast-growing southern cement market and solidifies the company’s position as the top player in India’s cement industry. 

Already the largest producer of cement in India, UltraTech has a total capacity of of 156.66 MTPA of grey cement. The acquisition of India Cements adds 15.6 million tonnes to UltraTech’s production capacity.

Adani Cement, which recently acquired CK Birla group firm Orient Cement, will have a combined capacity of 100 million tonnes per annum by the end of FY25. The group has targeted cement production capacity of 140 million tonnes by 2028.