Jaiprakash Associates rallies nearly 4% on reports of cement plant sale in MP

NEW DELHI: Jaiprakash Associates Ltd rallied as much as 3.8 per cent in trade on Wednesday, after media reports highlighted that Aditya Birla group firm Ultratech Cement is believed to be looking at possible acquisition of Jaypee Group's three cement plants in Madhya Pradesh in a deal that could be worth about Rs 5,500-6,000 crore.

At 09:50 a.m.; Jaiprakash Associates was trading 3.4 per cent higher at Rs 28.20. It hit a low of Rs 27.50 and a high of Rs 28.35 in trade today.

While investment banking sources involved in the talks said that the discussions are currently under way for a possible deal, a spokesperson for UltraTech declined to comment on queries in this regard, PTI said in a report.

Sources, however, maintained that UltraTech is looking to acquire the three cement plants of Jaypee Group in Reva, Madhya Pradesh and pegged the valuation at around Rs 5,500- 6,000 crore. They added that the discussions are currently focused mainly on valuation part, added the report.

In the June quarter, UltraTech had completed the acquisition of Gujarat units of Jaypee Cement Corp comprising an integrated unit at Sewagram and a grinding unit at Wanakbori with a combined capacity of 4.8 million tonnes per annum.