Mumbai, Nov. 4: Anil D. Ambani Group company Reliance Infrastructure is selling its cement and roads businesses and will focus solely on the defence sector.

The company today said it would sell its 5.8-million- tonne cement business, while an investment of Rs 8,800 crore in the roads division would be "appropriately monetised''. The road business comprises 11 projects of around 1,000 km across seven states.

Reliance Infrastructure has shortlisted seven potential buyers from 15 entities that have submitted the preliminary expressions of interest and the due diligence process has been initiated. Reliance Cement has an integrated unit at Maihar in Madhya Pradesh and a grinding unit at Kundanganj in Uttar Pradesh. It has another a grinding facility at Butibori in Maharashtra.

The road division has attracted interest from both domestic and overseas strategic and portfolio institutional investors.

Reliance Infrastructure, which is set to acquire Pipavav Defence & Offshore Engineering, said defence would be the primary growth driver for the company given the new opportunities following the "Make In India" programme. It said the business had several advantages such as low capital intensity, lower gestation period, higher job creation and minimal regulatory uncertainties.

The shares of Reliance Infrastructure today rose around 2 per cent to end at Rs 399.05 on the BSE.

The company has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 451.13 crore for the quarter ended September against Rs 431.19 crore a year ago year. Total income grew to Rs 4,841.37 crore from Rs 4,487 crore.

RPower dividend

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Power today said its board would on Monday consider giving maiden interim dividend to its shareholders. "A meeting of the board of directors will be held on November 9 to consider and approve the maiden interim dividend on equity shares of the company," RPower said in a filing with the BSE.

Reliance Power Limited, a part of the Reliance Group, is a private sector power generation and coal resources company.