Shares of Orient Cement surged as much as 14.5% on Wednesday over reports stating that promoter CK Birla approached Gautam Adani to sell his promoter stake in the listed cement company. 

The Economic Times (ET) report, quoting sources, suggested that CK Birla turned down initial offers from other stakeholders that did not meet his valuation requirements, which is double the current market price.

According to the report, the senior management executives on both sides had a meeting to discuss a potential deal. ET report added that the talks with Adani have been ongoing for the past few months. However, there is no guarantee of a transaction. The report further stated that Birla’s valuation demand Birla’s valuation demand, could be a deal breaker. 

The stock exchanges have sought clarification from Orient Cement regarding the stake sale, but the company replied that it is not privy to any such discussion and can’t comment on it.

Shares of Orient Cement closed at Rs 203.70, up nearly 7.7% from the previous closing price on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The scrip touched a 52-week high of Rs 216.50, 14.5% higher than its last closing price. 

The CK Birla Group has a presence in various industries, such as auto ancillary, building and engineering products, cement, and paper, across multiple businesses, including manufacturing, automotive, healthcare, and technology.

Birla holds a 37.9% stake in Orient Cement, valued at Rs 1,469.82 crore, per the company’s market capitalisation on Tuesday. 

Adani Cement recently acquired Sanghi Industries and has a total cement capacity of 110 million tonnes annually, the second-largest domestic cement capacity.