India: Binani Industries is in talks with potential financial investors such as JP Morgan and state-owned funds in the Middle East to sell up to a 40% stake in its subsidiary Binani Cement as it seeks to raise capital to cut its debt and expand its cement capacity. Potential investors may include Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Qatar Investment Authority.

The company, which has a total cement capacity of 11.25Mt/yr, has integrated cement plants in Rajasthan, India and a 2Mt/yr grinding unit in Dubai's Jebel Ali Industrial Area. The company has previously expressed an interest in expanding both inside and outside of India.

At US$130/t of installed capacity, Binani Cement will be valued at US$1.47bn. A 40% stake is thus worth around US$568m."The valuation of Binani Cement will be evolved in discussions with the financial investors and will be in compliance with the regulatory guidelines," said Sunil Sethy, executive vice-chairman and MD of Binani Industries."Given the overcapacity (in the Indian market) the absence of mergers and acquisitions has been surprising."