The deal includes cement capacity of 9.4 million tonnes situated in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, along with clinker capacity of 6.7 million tonnes (MT) and thermal power plants of 280 MW, the companies said in a statement.

The acquisition comes amid intense competition in domestic cement industry as companies look to expand their footprint and increase capacity.

The country's top cement maker, UltraTech Cement, in June charted out a plan to increase its annual capacity to 159.25 million tonnes per annum to stave off competition from the sector's newest entrant, Adani Group.

Dalmia said the deal was a significant step towards reaching 110 MT to 130 MT capacity by fiscal year 2031, with its capacity currently pegged at 37 MT.

($1 = 82.5100 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)