The Aditya Birla Group, which owns the country’s largest cement company, Ultratech, has formally joined the race to buy out the Swiss cement giant Holcim’s stake in Ambuja Cement and ACC, a person in the know of the development has said. 

The JSW Group, which is already present in the sector, and the Adani Group, which does not have presence, are also reportedly in the race for the prized assets. 

Leading steel player ArcelorMittal has also shown interest and may join the race to acquire the two companies. 

The Birlas have formally put in a bid for Holcim’s assets. The acquisition will be done through Ultratech, a source in the know of the development has told the PTI. 

The source insisted that this was not a binding bid. The source also said that its proposal included divesting 10-15 mt of Holcim capacity so that the deal does not get stuck with the fair trade body CCI. 

“'We are pretty confident of getting the CCI approval as we are ready to divest some of the target companies’ assets,”' the source said. 

When contacted, the Aditya Birla Group firm’s spokesman refused to comment, saying they don’t respond to market speculation. 

There are a few examples of the CCI clearing mergers and acquisitions when the acquirer’s stake went beyond a limit, the source said and pointed out that when Vodafone and Idea merged, both operators had to exit a few circles. 

The world’s largest cement-maker, Holcim, last month had announced its exit from the country after struggling here for a long. The company, through two listed entities ACC and Ambuja, has a capacity of 66 mtpa. 

The group had entered the market 17 years ago, and the exit will put its listed arms, Ambuja and ACC, up for sale. Holcim holds a 63.19 per cent stake in Ambuja and a 4.48 per cent in ACC, while Ambuja owns a 50.05 per cent stake in ACC.