Orient Paper to demerge cement business

Mumbai : Orient Paper and Industries Ltd (OPIL), a C K Birla group company, on Wednesday said it had decided to demerge its cement business to sharpen focus on the rapidly growing industry. It would transfer the unit to a newly incorporated wholly owned subsidiary, Orient Cement Ltd (OCL).

OPIL shareholders will get one new share of OCL for each share they own, in addition to their existing OPIL shares. OCL is proposed to be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange, where OPIL is listed.

The demerger will be undertaken subject to the approval of the Orissa High Court, the Securities and Exchange Board of India and other statutory bodies. All these formalities are expected to be completed by April 1, 2012.