ACC, Ambuja Cements Surge Amid High Volumes On Report Of Merger
Media reports said LafargeHolcim mulling merger of ACC, Ambuja Cements ACC, Ambuja Cements shares surged up to 6% on Monday BSE sought clarifications from both companies on report
ACC and Ambuja Cements shares surged up to 6 per cent on Monday amid media reports suggesting LafargeHolcim is mulling a merger of the two cement companies.
The Bombay Stock Exchange or BSE sought clarifications from both the companies - ACC and Ambuja Cements - on the report "LafargeHolcim Mulling merger of ACC & Ambuja" dated February 6. "The reply is awaited," the stock exchange said in separate notifications to both the companies.
A merger between ACC and Ambuja Cements will be a positive for both the cement makers as it will boost their profitability, and that led to high demand for their shares on Monday, said analysts.
ACC and Ambuja Cements shares hit intraday highs of Rs 1,500 and Rs 242.65, respectively, amid heavy volumes. Both the stocks saw multi-fold increase in volumes. At 3:08 p.m., 85,890 ACC shares and 3.44 lakh Ambuja Cements shares had changed hands as against their two-week averages of 26,000 and 1.12 lakh, respectively.
Shares in ACC ended 3.78 per cent higher at Rs 1,480.35 while Ambuja Cements stock settled with gains of 4.67 per cent at Rs 239.95 apiece on the BSE, whose benchmark Sensex index finished up 199 points, or 0.70 per cent.
ACC last week reported its earnings for the quarter ended December 2016. ACC's consolidated net profit of Rs. 56.34 crore in the quarter under review as against Rs 102.39 crore in the corresponding three-month period a year ago - a decline of 45 per cent.
Global cement major LafargeHolcim, through its subsidiary Holderind Investments, holds stake in ACC and Ambuja Cements.
At the end of December 2016, Holderind Investments held a 63.61 per cent in Ambuja Cements. In case of ACC, promoter group shareholding stood at 54.53 per cent, with Holderind Investments holding 4.48 per cent.