Shares of Ambuja Cements jumped sharply on Monday to hit an all-time high after the formal acquisition of the cement maker by the Adani Group.

At 12.49 pm, the shares of the company traded around 8 per cent higher at Rs 559. The all-time high was Rs 572. The combined market capitalization of Ambuja Cements and ACC is USD 19 billion as of date. With this acquisition, Adani is now India’s second largest cement manufacturer (capacity 67.5 MTPA).

Further, the Board of Ambuja Cements approved an infusion of Rs 20,000 Cr into Ambuja by way of preferential allotment of warrants. This will equip Ambuja to capture growth in the market.

“What makes cement an exciting business is the headroom for growth in India, which exceeds that of every other country well beyond 2050,” said Gautam Adani, Chairman, Adani Group.

The chairman believes the Group is on track to become the largest and most efficient manufacturer of cement by no later than 2030.

The chairman of the diversified conglomerate has just become the world’s second-richest person after overtaking Louis Vuitton’s Bernard Arnault, according to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List.

Gautam Adani’s net worth was USD 153.9 billion, compared to Arnault’s net worth of USD 153.7 billion. Adani is now just behind business magnate Elon Musk, according to Forbes’ data.

Gautam Adani is a first-generation entrepreneur and the Adani Group comprises 7 publicly listed entities with businesses spanning energy, ports and logistics, mining and resources, gas, defence and aerospace and airports. The Group has established a leadership position in India in each of its business areas.

The Adani Group is the third largest conglomerate (after Reliance Industries and the Tata Group) in India.

Listed Adani group companies are Adani Enterprises, Adani Green Energy, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Adani Power, Adani Total Gas, and Adani Transmission.

Over the past few years, flagship company Adani Enterprises has invested heavily in new growth sectors that include airports, cement, copper refining, data centres, green hydrogen, petrochemical refining, roads and solar cell manufacturing.