In December 2025, Adani Group has announced a major merger plan that will bring together ACC Ltd and Orient Cement Ltd into Ambuja Cement ltd. In Indian cement industry, this move is one of the biggest consolidation steps. The objective of this merger is to create a single large cement company with improved efficiency, better cost structures, and a stronger position in the market.
All three companies- Ambuja, ACC, and Orient Cement are connected through the Adani Group. In both companies, ACC & Orient Cement majority stake is already owned by Ambuja Cement. To increase more efficiently, reduce duplicate costs, and become stronger in the market is goal behind the merger of these companies into single company. Through merging all three companies into one entity company hopes for increase production capacity, simplify the corporate structure, streamline operations across regions and cut costs in manufacturing & logistics. In simple, Ambuja will run one big company with a unified strategy and management instead of running three separate companies. Investors believe this can eventually help deliver better value to shareholders.
What Is a Share Swap in a Merger?
In corporate when merger takes place, company often uses a share swap instead of paying cash to shareholders. It means shares of new or surviving company are given in exchange for the shares of previous company to the shareholders.
Here’s how a share swap works within Ambuja merger:
- In case of ACC Shareholders:
If you hold 100 shares of ACC, you will receive 328 shares of Ambuja Cements.
This exchange ratio is written as 328:100. - In case of Orient Cement Shareholders:
If you hold 100 shares of Orient Cement, you will receive 33 shares of Ambuja Cements.
This swap ratio is 33:100.
In simple words, it would tell shareholders how many new shares of the merged company they will get for each share they hold in the company that is being merged. This is done instead of paying cash to old company shareholders. The ratio of swap between two companies is depends on the relative value of the companies at the time of the merger deal.
How Many New Shares Will Be Issued?
When a merger uses share swap, the surviving company needs to issue new shares for the shareholders of the merging firms.
According to the merger plan:
- To buy the remaining minority stakes in ACC, Ambuja will issue about 308 million new Ambuja shares.
- To buy the remaining minority stakes in Orient Cement, Ambuja will issue around 18–19 million new shares.
- In total, Ambuja will issue around 326–327 million new shares to complete the merger.
Before this, Ambuja had about 2.47 billion shares outstanding. After issuing new shares for the merger, the total number of shares will rise to around 2.78–2.80 billion. This means that Ambuja’s existing shareholders will see some dilution in their ownership percentage, but the value of the business may grow because the company becomes larger and more efficient.
What Are Record Dates?
A record date is a specific date set by a company to decide which shareholders are eligible to receive the shares under the merger.
For example, if the record date for the merger is January 15, then only the investors who own shares on January 15 will get the new Ambuja shares based on the swap ratio. If someone buys Ambuja shares after January 15 they will not get the Ambuja shares from the merger. The Ambuja shares are, for the investors who already own Ambuja shares on January 15.
Important: now Ambuja Cements has not said when the record date for the merger is. So investors need to keep an eye, on Ambuja Cements updates to find out when they must have Ambuja Cements shares to get the shares.
How Will the Merger Affect Shareholders?
For ACC Shareholders
If you are an ACC shareholder, you will receive 328 Ambuja shares for every 100 ACC shares you hold. This reflects the relative market value of ACC compared to Ambuja at the time of the merger deal. Analysts say that this swap ratio is nearly equal to ACC’s market price, meaning you are getting similar value in Ambuja shares.
However, some market reports mention that the announcement caused ACC shares to react differently on the stock market sometimes moving less than expected because investors are thinking about future dilution or performance.
For Orient Cement Shareholders
Orient Cement shareholders will receive 33 Ambuja shares for every 100 Orient shares. Based on recent market prices, this meant Orient shareholders received a premium of around 9% compared to the previous market value of Orient shares. This is seen as positive for minority investors of Orient Cement.
For Ambuja Shareholders
Ambuja shareholders will see the company grow larger. However, because new shares are issued to ACC and Orient shareholders, their percentage ownership in Ambuja will be diluted slightly. After this dilution reduce promoter holding from about 67.65% to around 60.94% is expected.
Conclusion
The merger of ACC Ltd and Orient Cement Ltd with Ambuja Cements is a landmark deal in India’s cement industry. Using a share swap, Ambuja is set to issue new shares for eligible ACC and Orient Cement shareholders based on agreed exchange ratios. Although the exact record date is still pending, investors should stay updated so they don’t miss eligibility for receiving new shares
Overall, this merger could result in a stronger, more efficient cement giant with better long-term growth potential. But like all corporate actions, shareholders should watch approvals, record dates, and future market responses closely.
