Radhakishan Damani, the Indian tycoon who built a fortune rolling out his supermarkets across the country, is considering acquiring a controlling stake in India Cements, according to people familiar with the matter.
Damani, the owner of Avenue Supermarts, has informally reached out to the cement manufacturer’s controlling shareholder, N Srinivasan, to explore a takeover, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is not public.
Srinivasan, who controls about 29 per cent of the Chennai-based cement maker, is also exploring other investors to ward off any hostile bids, the people said, adding Damani has promised a friendly change in management and isn’t seeking a hostile takeover. No decision has been made on how Damani and Srinivasan will proceed, the people said.
The retail tycoon and his family have been piling on shares of India Cements for some months, and their holdings quadrupled this year to about 20 per cent as of March 31, exchange filings show. Shares of the company that makes the construction material jumped as much as 11 per cent on Wednesday in Mumbai, the biggest intraday gain in a month. They have surged 92 per cent this year, boosting the market value to about $555 million.
A successful deal may help Damani diversify his holdings while India Cements would get a backer with deep pockets to gear it up against rivals such as UltraTech Cement and LafargeHolcim.