Abstract

The case explains the two acquisitions made by Holcim, the Switzerland-based cement company, in 2005. These two acquisitions were the India-based Associate Cement Companies (ACC) and the UK-based Aggregate Industries (AI). While the deal with AI increased shareholder value and involved two parties, the deal with ACC was relatively more complex. Holcim entered into an alliance with Gujarat Ambuja Cement Limited (GACL) to acquire ACC. The case explains how the deal was structured and how it gave the companies involved certain operational advantages. The case also covers the criticisms that were raised against the deal. Details pertaining to other acquisitions carried out by Holcim in the late 1990s and the early 2000s are also mentioned in the case.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Why companies go in for acquisitions alliances
• How strategies alliances acquisitions create value
• How market maturity of a company affects its acquisition decisions.

Keywords

Holcim Group, Aggregate Industries, Associated Cement Companies Ltd, Holderbank, Distribution Channels, Markus Akermann, Gujarat Ambuja Cements Limited, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Ambuja Cement India Limited, Anil Singhvi, Lafarge, Italcementi, Organic Growth, Creeping Acquisition and Inorganic Growth