Billionaire Adani Plans to Double Cement Capacity After Closing Ambuja, ACC Acquisitions

Adani Group, helmed by Asia’s richest man, plans to double annual cement making capacity by 2027 after closing the acquisition of Holcim Ltd.’s Indian assets, a deal that’s made the conglomerate the South Asian nation’s second-largest producer of the construction material.

“We anticipate going from the current 70 million tons capacity to 140 million tons in the next five years,” Chairman Gautam Adani said at an event Saturday that was later uploaded on YouTube on Monday. The tycoon said India’s per capita consumption of cement was almost seven times below that of China, giving the country ample space for expansion.

After taking over Ambuja Cements Ltd. and ACC Ltd. from Holcim in May, Adani -- who surpassed Jeff Bezos to become the world’s second-richest person over the weekend -- anticipates that Indian government initiatives to spur infrastructure growth will fuel major demand for cement. His ports-to-power conglomerate often aligns with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nation-building priorities and has been diversifying rapidly beyond its coal-based empire into green energy, data centers and digital services.

The Adani Group said on Friday it will inject 200 billion rupees ($2.5 billion) into Ambuja after being alloted warrants that can be converted into shares within 18 months of issue. Adani was appointed as chairman of Ambuja. His elder son, Karan Adani, 35, will become chairman at ACC and have a seat on Ambuja’s board, as the scion steps in to lead the newly acquired business seen by his father as a new engine of growth.

Adani said in Saturday’s speech that cement was an “attractive adjacency” to his infrastructure business, especially the group’s ports and logistics business, green energy business and the e-commerce platform that’s being developed. 

“These adjacencies give us a significant competitive advantage and puts us in a position to gain unmatched scale,” he said.