GRASIM

Recasts, adds detail on industry, market share, analyst comments

By Hritam Mukherjee and Manvi Pant

BENGALURU, June 27 (Reuters) - JSW Paints will buy Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel's AKZO.AS Indian arm for about $1.6 billion, in what will be the country's biggest deal yet in the sector as competition intensifies between established players and new entrants.

The deal comes as challenges for Indian paint makers mount, including volatile raw material costs and heightened competition, with billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla's entry into the sector last year eating into Asian Paints' market share.

Dulux Paint-owner Akzo Nobel had announced a review of its South Asia operations last year to rein in costs and boost its core coatings business.

Shares of Akzo Nobel India jumped more than 11% after the deal was announced, and were trading 7.6% higher in Mumbai at around 0830 GMT.

India's paint and coatings market is expected to reach $16.37 billion in size by 2030, Mordor Intelligence estimates, from $10.46 billion in 2025, driven by a boom in infrastructure and real estate development.

The deal, which includes debt, will be the Indian paint sector's biggest deal on record, Dealogic data showed.

JSW Paints, launched in 2019 and part of the $23 billion JSW Group, will buy a 74.76% stake in Akzo Nobel India for $1.05 billion and launch an open offer for the roughly 25% held by public shareholders.

Parent Akzo Nobel, the fourth-largest paint maker in the world by market capitalisation behind PPG, Nippon Paint 4612.T and Sherwin-Williams SHW.N, will continue to retain its research and development centre and powder coatings business in India.

GROWING COMPETITION

Once completed, the deal will propel JSW Paints to fourth place by market share in a sector dominated by Asian Paints ASPN.NS, Berger Paints BRGR.NS and Kansai Nerolac KANE.NS, according to Geojit Financial Services analyst Antu Thomas.

Birla-owned Grasim launched Birla Opus in 2024, crowding the already-competitive market. Birla has since filed an antitrust complaint against Asian Paints for allegedly abusing its market position, Reuters has reported.

In 2022, the competition regulator closed a case filed by JSW Paints against Asian Paints for abusing its market position, saying it found no breach of competition laws.

"While this acquisition offers JSW Paints a significant scale-up opportunity, near-term integration challenges could provide an opportunity for incumbent players to strengthen their market position in the luxury segment," Amit Purohit, vice president at Elara Capital said.

Akzo Nobel is likely to rake in 900 million euros in net proceeds and plans to launch a 400 million euro share buyback program after the deal's closing, which is expected in the fourth quarter of 2025.

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee and Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Dimitri Rhodes; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala, Vijay Kishore, Aditya Kalra and Rachna Uppal)

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June 25 (Reuters) - Grasim Industries Ltd GRAS.NS:

• GRASIM - COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION OF RESIN MANUFACTURING BLOCK HAS NOW STARTED AT MAHAD PLANT

Further company coverage: GRAS.NS

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MUMBAI, June 24 (Reuters) - India's Aditya Birla Housing Finance plans to raise 5 billion rupees ($58.03 million), including a greenshoe option of 3 billion rupees, through a sale of bonds maturing in five years, three bankers said on Tuesday.

The company will pay a coupon that is 162 basis points over the 364-day treasury bill yield, which works out to be 7.08%.

It has invited bids from bankers and investors for the issue on Wednesday, they said.

The company did not reply to a Reuters email for comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on June 24:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 86.1660 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

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** Shares of Grasim Industries Ltd GRAS.NS rise 4.1% to 2,714.60 rupees

** Morgan Stanley upgrades GRAS' rating to overweight" from "equal weight", raises PT to a Street-high 3,500 rupees and selects stock as the top pick in its coverage universe

** Stock is top gainer in blue-chip Nifty 50 .NSEI index

** GRAS is the holding company of Aditya Birla Group firms Ultratech Cement ULTC.NS, Birla Opus Paints, among others

** Brokerage's rating upgrade, PT raise driven by four scenarios – further value unlocking of paints business, improving earnings at ULTC, quick scale-up of newer verticals and narrowing holding company discount

** Analysts tracking stock rate it "buy" on average; median PT is 3,225 rupees - as per data compiled by LSEG

** Stock up 11% so far this year, outperforming Nifty 50's 6.3% climb

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru)

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June 2 (Reuters) - Grasim Industries Ltd GRAS.NS:

• GRASIM INDUSTRIES LTD - APPROVES ISSUANCE OF NCDS AGGREGATING UP TO 10 BILLION RUPEES

Further company coverage: GRAS.NS

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MUMBAI, May 26 (Reuters) - India's Aditya Birla Capital ADTB.NS has accepted bids worth 17.75 billion rupees ($208.75 million) for multiple-tenor bonds, three bankers said on Monday.

The company sold bonds maturing in two years and nine months, in four years and six months, and reissued 8.02% February 2030 bonds. It had invited commitment bids for all the options on Friday, they said.

The company did not reply to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on May 26:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 85.0300 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Varun H K)

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** Grasim Industries GRAS.NS climbs 1.3% to 2,708.6 rupees; set to snap five straight sessions of losses

** Co's Q4 loss narrows to 2.88 bln rupees ($33.6 mln) vs year-ago loss of 4.41 bln rupees; rev grows ~22% y/y

** GRAS garnered 10% market share in one year of paints business launch, above its target of high single-digit market share by FY25-end

** Jefferies says co's Birla Opus has become India's third decorative paints band after Q4

** Stock rated "buy" on avg, rival Asian Paints ASPN.NS rated "sell", per data compiled by LSEG

** YTD, GRAS gains ~11% YTD

($1 = 85.7950 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru)

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May 22 (Reuters) - Grasim Industries Ltd GRAS.NS:

• GRASIM - IN Q4 CROSSED 10% REVENUE MARKET SHARE IN PAINTS, COMBINING BIRLA OPUS, BIRLA WHITE PUTTY REVS

Source text: ID:nBSE2gyZYQ

Further company coverage: GRAS.NS

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May 14 (Reuters) - MSCI included two Indian companies fertilisers maker Coromandel International CORF.NS and beauty products retailer Nykaa FSNE.NS to its Global Standard index earlier on Wednesday, as part of its May 2025 index rejig.

No Indian stock has been deleted from the key global index. The changes will come into effect as of the markets close on May 30.

The inclusion could bring passive inflows worth $216 million-$227 million into Coromandel and $172 million - $181 million into Nykaa, according to IIFL Alternate Research and JM Financial estimates.

MSCI also added Coromandel and airport operator GMR Airports GMRI.NS into its India domestic index, while removing auto parts maker Sona BLW Precision Forgings SONB.NS.

While the flagship Global Standard index and Indian domestic indexes only saw minor tweaks, MSCI added 11 new stocks and deleted 21 stocks from its global small-cap index.

The more specific MSCI India domestic small-cap index saw the addition of 12 stocks and removal of 21 stocks.

Besides the additions, drug maker Cipla CIPL.NS, telecom infrastructure provider Indus Towers INUS.NS and textiles, cement and chemicals maker Grasim Industries GRAS.NS are likely to see passive inflows of $33 million-$45 million, $36 million-$40 million and about $17 million due to the increase in their weights in the Global Standard index.

Astral could see outflows worth $15 million-$17 million due to weight reduction, according to IIFL Alternate Research and JM Financial estimates.

India's weight in the MSCI Global Standard index rose marginally to 19.4%, according to the IIFL Alternate Research. India had a weightage of about 19% in the index as of the previous revision in February.

In its last rejig in February, MSCI added carmaker Hyundai Motor HYUN.NS and removed Adani Green Energy ADNA.NS from its global standard index.

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

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BENGALURU, May 13 (Reuters) - Diary of India economic, corporate events on May 13

ECONOMIC, CORPORATE .BSE500 EVENTS:

NTS - 'No time scheduled'

(Compiled by Bengaluru Newsroom)

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Rewrites with management commentary from analyst call, more background

By Hritam Mukherjee

April 28 (Reuters) - UltraTech Cement ULTC.NS reported fourth-quarter profit below market expectations on Monday and said soaring summer temperatures are hitting construction activity in India and curbing cement demand.

The company's finance chief Atul Daga said in an analyst call he sees challenging demand span April and May - the months of peak summer in India. Earlier in the day, India's biggest cement maker by capacity had mentioned "short-term challenges" in a statement, without elaborating.

Shares of UltraTech closed 1% lower, after its consolidated net profit was below estimates at 24.82 billion rupees ($292 million) for the January-March period.

Revenue, which took a marginal lift from the company's Kesoram KSRM.NS deal, was 230.63 billion rupees, in line with analyst expectations.

Cement companies usually push to achieve more volume and meet fiscal year-end targets in the fourth quarter, when favourable weather conditions drive up construction activity.

Although cement prices are recovering, they were on average still about 2% down from a year earlier in the fourth quarter, data from Ambit Capital showed. Daga said April prices "have seen improvement" compared to the end of March.

UltraTech's volume jumped 17% year-on-year, within the 14%-21% range estimated by at least three brokerages who were rated the highest on LSEG for their earnings accuracy.

The sector has so far furnished a mixed bag of earnings, with higher expenses weighing on ACC's ACC.NS profit, while cost controls helped Dalmia Bharat DALB.NS offset a hit from soft prices and lower volume.

UltraTech had also announced in February it would spend 18 billion rupees on its foray into India's wires and cables sector, a move which drew analyst skepticism over its capital allocation.

($1 = 84.9870 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Varun H K and Krishna Chandra Eluri)

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MUMBAI, April 4 (Reuters) - India's Aditya Birla Housing Finance has accepted bids worth 6.65 billion rupees ($78 million)for bonds maturing in three years and five months, three bankers said on Friday.

The company will offer a yield of 7.7224%, and had invited bids from bankers and investors earlier in the day, they said.

The company did not reply to a Reuters email for comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on April 4:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 85.2730 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Khushi Malhotra and Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Varun H K)

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MUMBAI, April 3 (Reuters) - India's Aditya Birla Housing Finance plans to raise 10 billion rupees ($116.8 million), including a greenshoe option of 7 billion rupees, through the sale of bonds maturing in three years and five months, three bankers said on Thursday.

The company will pay an annual coupon of 7.8618% and has invited bids from bankers and investors on Friday, they said.

The company did not reply to a Reuters email for comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on April 3:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 85.6525 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

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MUMBAI, March 18 (Reuters) - India's Aditya Birla Finance has accepted bids worth 37.15 billion rupees ($428 million) for multiple maturity bonds, three bankers said on Tuesday.

The company had invited bids from bankers and investors for all the options on Monday, they said.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on March 18:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 86.7000 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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MUMBAI, March 13 (Reuters) - India's Aditya Birla Finance plans to raise 37.5 billion Indian rupees ($430.86 million), which includes a greenshoe option of 25 billion rupees through sale of bonds maturing in four years and two months and in four years and 11 months, three bankers said on Thursday.

The company has invited bids from bankers and investors for the issue on Monday, they said.

Aditya Birla Finance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on March 13:

* Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 87.0360 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

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MUMBAI, March 11 (Reuters) - India's Aditya Birla Finance plans to raise 7.5 billion rupees ($86 million) through reissue of 7.90% June 2028 bonds, three bankers said on Tuesday.

The company will invite bids from bankers and investors for the issue next week, they said.

The company did not reply to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on March 11:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 87.1730 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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MUMBAI, March 10 (Reuters) - India's Aditya Birla Housing Finance has accepted bids worth 2.50 billion rupees ($28.64 million) for sale of bonds maturing in three years and five months, three bankers said on Monday.

The company will pay an annual coupon of 7.9015% and had invited bids from bankers and investors earlier in the day, they said.

The company did not reply to a Reuters email for comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on March 10:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 87.3000 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

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MUMBAI, March 7 (Reuters) - India's Aditya Birla Housing Finance plans to raise 15 billion rupees ($172 million) including a greenshoe option of 12.50 billion rupees, through a sale of bonds maturing in three years and five months, three bankers said on Friday.

The company will pay an annual coupon of 7.9015% and has invited bids from bankers and investors on Monday, they said.

The company did not reply to a Reuters email for comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on March 7:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 86.9725 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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MUMBAI, March 6 (Reuters) - India's Aditya Birla Finance has accepted bids worth 3.40 billion rupees ($39 million) for the sale of bonds maturing in three years and five months, three bankers said on Thursday.

The company will pay an annual coupon of 7.9413% on this issue and had invited bids from bankers and investors earlier in the day, they said.

The company did not reply to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on March 6:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 87.0800 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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MUMBAI, March 5 (Reuters) - India's Aditya Birla Finance plans to raise 15 billion rupees ($171.91 million), including a greenshoe option of 12.50 billion rupees through a sale of bonds maturing in three years and five months, three bankers said on Wednesday.

The company will pay an annual coupon of 7.9413% on this issue and has invited bids from bankers and investors on Thursday, they said.

The company did not immediately reply to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on March 5:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 87.2560 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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March 4 (Reuters) - Grasim Industries Ltd GRAS.NS:

• MAHAD PAINT PLANT COMMENCES COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION

Source text: ID:nNSE6496Tv

Further company coverage: GRAS.NS

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MUMBAI, March 3 (Reuters) - India's UltraTech Cement ULTC.NS plans to raise 20 billion rupees ($229 million) through a sale of bonds maturing in three years as well as five years, two merchant bankers said on Monday.

UltraTech Cement will raise 10 billion rupees from each option and has invited bids from bankers and investors for the issues on Tuesday, they said.

The company did not immediately reply to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on March 3:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 87.3690 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Varun H K)

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MUMBAI, Feb 28 (Reuters) - India's Aditya Birla Finance has accepted bids worth 7 billion rupees ($80.17 million) for reissue of 7.97% July 2028 bonds, three bankers said on Friday.

The company will offer a yield of 7.96% on this issue and had invited bids from bankers and investors earlier in the day, they said.

The company did not reply to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on February 28:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 87.3175 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

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Feb 27 (Reuters) - Shares of India's UltraTech Cement ULTC.NS fell 5% to hit their lowest level in eight months on Thursday as analysts raised concerns over the top cement maker's plan to foray into the cables and wires business.

Shares of the cement maker were last trading 5.05% lower at 10,410.1 rupees and were the top percentage losers on the benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI, which was little changed on the day.

($1 = 87.3830 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manvi Pant and Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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Feb 25 (Reuters) - UltraTech Cement ULTC.NS, India's top cement maker by capacity, will spend 18 billion rupees ($206 million) to start up a wires and cables business, deepening its foothold in the construction materials business, the company said on Tuesday.

The wires and cables business will be part of UltraTech's building products division, which includes waterproofing products, TMT steel bars, plywood, sanitary ware, hand tools as well as electrical components such as switchboards.

The investment, to be spread over two years, will involve UltraTech building a plant by December 2026 with the aim of capturing demand in a sector that, the Aditya Birla group company said, logged a compound annual growth rate of about 13% between fiscal 2019-2024.

This sector is dominated by companies such as Polycab POLC.NS and Havells HVEL.NS and one that is plagued by volatile prices of copper - a key raw material - and intense competition from smaller, cheaper local players.

Additionally, the infrastructure and construction industries, key clients of the wires and cables makers, will likely see a slowdown in 2025 due to a "modest" hike in capital spending announced in the annual budget, earlier this month.

Meanwhile, the cement industry has recently seen a slew of deals by industry leaders including UltraTech and Adani Group companies as they snap up smaller firms to deepen their presence in the industry.

($1 = 87.1700 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

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MUMBAI, Feb 11 (Reuters) - India's Aditya Birla Finance has accepted bids worth 3.53 billion rupees ($40.7 million) for perpetual bonds, three bankers said on Tuesday.

The company will pay a coupon of 8.73% on the issue and had invited bids from bankers and investors earlier in the day.

The bonds will have a call option at the end of the tenth year, the bankers added.

The company did not reply to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on February 11:

* Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 86.7875 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

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Feb 10 (Reuters) - Grasim Industries Ltd GRAS.NS:

• Q3 NET LOSS 1.69 BILLION RUPEES; IBES LOSS EST. 805.5 MILLION RUPEES

• Q3 REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 81.20 BILLION RUPEES; IBES EST. 80.06 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: GRAS.NS

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Rewrites with management commentary from post-earnings call

By Hritam Mukherjee

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Akzo Nobel India AKZO.NS said on Friday it expects the demand for paints to recover from the second half of the year after the effects of the federal budget's consumption-boosting proposals filter through essential items before influencing discretionary purchases.

Last week, the government dished out its biggest income tax relief in at least a decade, hoping that higher disposable incomes would boost demand and consumption, thereby lifting the economy.

However, the effects of that on the demand for discretionary items such as paints will only start from the second half of this year, Akzo Nobel Chairman and Managing Director Rajiv Rajgopal said in a post-earnings call.

Earlier in the day, the 'Dulux' paintmaker reported a 5% fall in consolidated third-quarter net profit to 1.09 billion rupees ($12.47 million) as its 2% increase in its revenue was outweighed by a 2.3% rise in expenses.

Paintmakers saw weak demand from retail consumers who are choosing cheaper brands in the face of high inflation, analysts say and demand forecasts by paint companies have been mixed so far.

While market leader Asian Paints ASPN.NS missed earnings estimates and issued a grim demand outlook, Kansai Nerolac KANE.NS said it also expects the lower income tax rates to increase demand.

Akzo Nobel India's larger peers, Grasim Industries GRAS.NS and Berger Paints BRGR.NS, are due to report their results next week.

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee and Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

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Updates with Heidelberg's response in paragraph 7, share move in paragraph 12

Jan 27 (Reuters) - UltraTech Cement ULTC.NS, India's top cement producer by capacity, is in advanced talks with German firm Heidelberg HEIG.DE to acquire its Indian unit, Moneycontrol reported on Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Executives from the Aditya Birla Group, UltraTech's parent, met Heidelberg management to discuss the acquisition of HeidelbergCement India HEID.NS, the report said, without specifying the value of the deal.

The German parent's 69% stake in its local arm was valued at around 33.8 billion rupees ($391.08 million) as of Friday's close.

The talks come months after newspaper Economic Times reported that UltraTech's rival Adani Group was in talks to buy the German parent's stake.

It was not immediately clear if the talks with Adani fell through. Moneycontrol's report did not specify the status of Adani Group's talks.

Besides the two majors, Heidelberg had also drawn interest from IPO-bound JSW Cement, multiple media outlets reported last year.

Heidelberg said in an emailed response that it does not comment on market rumours.

UltraTech, HeidelbergCement India and the Adani Group did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

UltraTech and the Adani Group - which entered the sector in 2022 by buying the cement assets of Swiss firm Holcim HOLN.S - are engaged in a turf war to expand capacities and shore up market share, with cement demand expected to remain healthy, according to analysts.

In July, Heidelberg CEO Dominik von Achten said the group's market position in India was "not perfect yet" and it was looking at all options.

The company, which entered India in 2006 with a series of domestic acquisitions, now has four plants with an annual capacity of 12.6 million tonnes, according to its website.

HeidelbergCement India's shares traded 6% higher following the report. It is due to report quarterly results later this week.

UltraTech reported an upbeat third-quarter results last week.

($1 = 86.4275 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Chris Thomas and Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

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Updates with details from post-earnings conference call

By Hritam Mukherjee

Jan 23 (Reuters) - UltraTech ULTC.NS, India's top cement maker by capacity, signalled better core profit in upcoming quarters as the market absorbed price hikes and demand picked up, after it reported an earnings beat on Thursday on strong volumes.

"We expect earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to further improve going forward," finance chief Atul Daga said in a post-earnings conference call.

The comments echo those of smaller peer Dalmia Bharat DALB.NS, which said it was confident about a stronger performance in the upcoming quarters.

Cement prices improved in January, extending their rise from December, Daga said, adding that the pricing "lull has ended".

The average cement price in India, which have been falling for the most of last year, improved in the reporting quarter as the market absorbed price hikes after earlier such attempts were rolled back.

However, data from brokerages Ambit and Nomura showed that they were still about 11% lower on-year.

Volumes grew 11% - higher side of the 8.4%-11% range estimated by four brokerages - cushioning the hit from the depressed prices.

Cement demand is "opening up," Daga said, adding that government capex programmes have gained momentum since end of last month.

UltraTech's upbeat results - a smaller-than-expected 17% profit fall and a revenue beat - drove its shares to close 8% higher. It also lifted cement stocks of its nearest rival, the Adani Group - Ambuja ABUJ.NS and ACC ACC.NS - by 2%.

"UltraTech's good set of numbers are being seen as signs of improvement in the sector, and is assuaging investors that the worst, in terms of cement demand and prices, may be behind," said Ashutosh Murarka, a research analyst with Choice Broking.

The company's focus will be on turning around subsidiary India Cements ICMN.NS, which had reported a wider loss earlier this week, by boosting capacity utilisation levels, Daga said.

($1 = 86.4820 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Janane Venkatraman)

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