1)

RAK CERAMICS TO INVEST 600 CR TO SET UP TILE PLANT (9th MAY 2010)

MUMBAI: Ceramic tiles manufacturer, RAK Ceramics India, plans to set up a tile plant in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, at an
invest Rs 600 crore over the next 18 months, a top company official said.
RAK Ceramics is a subsidiary of USD one billion UAE-headquartered Ras Al Khaimah (RAK).
"We will be setting up an unit in Ahmedabad with a production capacity of 10,000 sq mtr tiles per day. The investment will
be over Rs 600 crore and the plant will be commissioned by early-2012. We also intend to scale-up the capacity to
70,000 sq mtrs tiles per day in the next seven years," RAK Ceramics' Director, Sunil Malesha said.
The funds would be a mix of debt and internal accruals, Malesha said, adding that company plans to raise Rs 300 crore
debt from the World Bank.
This would be the company's second unit in India after the vitrified tiles plant in Andhra Pradesh, which has a production
at capacity of 30,000 sq mtrs of tiles per day.
The company, which plans to raise Rs 150-250 crore through an IPO by 2012, expects a 33 per cent growth in its
revenue this year at Rs 40 crore, Malesha said, adding that the company expects a total turnover of Rs 1,500-1,700
crore in the next seven years.
The company also exports its tiles to countries such as Taiwan, Korea, Israel, the UAE, Sri Lanka and Australia.

The company plans to up its distribution network in the country in the view of the growth in the real estate sector,
Malesha said.
"With the growth in the real estate sector we also plan to increase our distribution network to garner more sales. People
these days have become more style-conscious," he said.
The company also recently entered into a joint venture with Germany-based Kludi Group, a global player in the bath and
kitchen fittings, to roll-out luxurious bath fittings.
"Bath fittings have really come of age from a mere necessity to a style statement and the segment is growing fast and we
intend to tap the potential present in this segment," Malesha said.
The company targets a Rs 10 crore revenue in this year from the joint venture.

2) UltraTech to buy Dubai's ETA Star for Rs 1,700 cr (30TH APRIL 2010)
MUMBAI: Ultratech CementBSE -1.43 %, the country's second-largest cement maker and a part of Aditya Birla
group, said on Thursday it would acquire Dubai-based ETA Star Cement for an enterprise value of Rs 1,700 crore.
UltraTech CFO KC Birla said the deal will be funded through a mix of debt and internal accruals. ETA Star has a market
share of 10% and 20% in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, respectively. He, however, did not disclose the cost of acquiring the
stake nor the size of equity. A person familiar with the deal said UltraTech would pay around Rs 900 crore to acquire a
majority stake in ETA Star.
3) French co Vicat picks up 51% in Bharathi Cement (20th APRIL 2010)
HYDERABAD: French cement maker Vicat has bought 51% in Bharathi Cement and said it is becoming a partner with
YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Congress MP and son of the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, to
bolster its southern presence.
Vicat, which tied up with Sagar CementsBSE -1.05 % to build a 5.5-mt plant in Gulbarga, Karnataka, did not disclose the
amount it paid for the acquisition in a press statement. The acquisition, the statement added, was financed through debt.
4 . Sanghi eyes KENYA for expansion (20th MARCH 2010)
MUMBAI: Gujarat-based Sanghi Industries, part of the Rs 4,500-crore Sanghi Group, has bought land in Kenya
to build a cement plant, making it the first Indian company to do so in the east African country.

Sanghi plans to build a 1.2-million-tonne cement plant, along with local partnership, in a bid to cater to a growing African
market and to also serve neighbouring countries, said people connected with the development.
Sanghi, along with its unnamed local partner, has already bought 650 acres in Kenya and expects to start the first phase
in June, said the people close to the development. Actual production is expected by first quarter of 2012, they added.
5) Burnpur Cement eyes pan-India expansion (19TH FEB 2010)
MUMBAI: Asansol-based cement manufacturer Burnpur Cement, which sells its produce mainly in West
Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar, is gearing up to have a pan-India presence in the next fiscal to meet growing demand of
cement as the government steps up investment in infrastructure.
Burnpur Cement is drawing up plans to set up cement plants in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and in Nepal, to increase capacity
to 10 million tonnes, from the curent 0.3 million tonnes in the next few years, managing director Ashok Gutgutia told ET.
These expansions will be carried out in two phases. "We've have tied up debt from a syndicate of banks led by the State
Bank of India. The company will reach 5 million tonnes capacity in three years," said Mr Gutgutia in a telephonic
interview from Kolkata. In the first phase, Burnpur is building an integrated cement plant in Jharkhand with a daily
capacity of 800 tonnes and will also produce ordinary portland and portland puzzolana cement. This plant is expected to
come on stream from 2010-end.
Burnpur is investing Rs 200 crore for the Jharkhand project and would be funded through the debt-equity route. These
expansions would enable the firm to enter the lucrative northern and western markets. It is also considering to launch a
separate brand to market its products in other regions. Currently, it sells cement with the Burnpur brand name, mainly in
eastern India.
Burnpur's move is in line with the Indian cement industry's moves. Cement players in the country have been aggressively
ramping up capacity due to a spurt in domestic demand, which is one of the few markets in the world to see a sharp rise
in cement usage. India's annual cement production, which is likely to grow by 10% every year, will go up to 250 million
tonnes by FY10. Globally, India is the second-largest cement maker after China, which produces 1.4 billion tonnes of
cement every year.
6) Dalmia Cement raises stake in OCL to 45.4% (30th JAN 2010)
NEW DELHI: Dalmia Cement (Bharat) today said it has increased its stake in OCL India to 45.4 per cent from 21.7 per
cent at an investment of Rs 177 crore as part of its plan to expand its footprint in eastern India.
"The acquisition was completed in an all-cash deal at the ruling market price," the company said in a statement.
A Dalmia Cement spokesperson said the company has acquired the stake for Rs 177 crore. The stake was purchased
from Y H Dalmia, a promoter of OCL India . Dalmia Cement, which is present in Southern parts of the country, hiked its
stake in Orissa's OCL India in order to enhance its presence in the Eastern region.
7) Grasim shareholders, creditors approve demerger proposal (7th jan 2010)
MUMBAI: Aditya Birla group company Grasim Industries today said its shareholders and creditors have
approved the demerging of its cement business into its wholly-owned subsidiary Samruddhi.
Samruddhi would be later merged with UltraTech Cement, another group company into cement manufacturing.
The equity shareholders and creditors of the company at the Court convened meetings held on January 4, 2010, have
unanimously approved the Scheme of Arrangement between Grasim Industries and Samruddhi Cement," Grasim said in
a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
On completion of the demerger, Grasim would hold 65 percent in Samruddhi while Grasim shareholders would hold the
balance 35 percent .