Indian billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla, left, is battling rival Gautam Adani for control of India's cement sector, the world's second-biggest. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by AP and Reuters)

Indian billionaires Adani and Birla wage 'cement war'

Expansion by rivals could spur price cuts in world's second-biggest market

SAYAN CHAKRABORTY, Nikkei staff writer

August 23, 2024 06:00 JST

BENGALURU -- Two of India's richest men are locked in a battle for cement supremacy as they snap up rivals to corner a soaring market fueled by a homegrown infrastructure boom.

The latest chapter in what is being dubbed as a clash of the titans saw billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla's market-leading Ultra Tech pay $697 million since June for a 56% stake in India Cements, which traces its beginnings to 1946, when India was still a British colony. That followed a $641 million buyout of Kesoram Industries' cement business in November.