ET reported that Kolkata based industrialist GP Goenka is close to selling his controlling stake in debt ridden Andhra Cements Ltd to the Dalmia group, which owns Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd.

A person close to the deal said on condition of anonymity said that "Things are pretty close to finalisation and an announcement is likely soon.”

The size of the deal is not known yet, but industry players and analysts said that any merger or acquisition in the sector should be valued between USD 70 and USD 150 per tonne of the cement maker's capacity, besides technology, limestone reserves, proven capacity, market location and other asset liability considerations.

Andhra Cements incurred a loss of INR 35.50 crore on net sale of INR 65.48 crore last year and two of its units have been non operational since June 2010. Some analysts ET spoke with said a deal would take into account the huge accumulated losses as well as its debt burden of over INR 350 crore.

Goenka chairman of the diversified Duncan Goenka group holds 45% stake in the cement maker.

(Sourced from ET)