13 August 2014
UK/Singapore: The private equity firm CVC Capital Partners is in discussion with Singapore's Government Investment Corporation (GIC) about a combined bid for assets being sold by Holcim and Lafarge as they prepare to merge, according to Sky News. CVC is also understood to be talking to other state investment funds about the proposed deal.
At least two other private equity groups have been formed to bid for the divestments that Holcim and Lafarge are preparing to sell. Blackstone has teamed up with Cinven and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. BC Partners and Advent International are also preparing a joint bid. Initial offers are understood to be due in September 2014.
Democratic Republic of Congo: PPC Barnet DRC has awarded an EPC contract to Sinoma International Engineering Company for the construction of a new cement plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The signing took place in Kinshasa marking the inaugural phase of the construction. The main sponsors of the US$300m project include PPC, Barnet Group and the International Finance Corporation. The investment forms part of PPC's expansion plans in Africa, which aim to increase the company's revenue from outside South Africa from the current 26% to 40% by 2017.
"The plant is located near Zamba in the Cataracts district, approximately 230km from Kinshasa. The fully-integrated plant will consist of a five-stage preheater kiln with an inline calciner and will produce 1Mt/yr of cement to serve both the rapidly growing market in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring export markets," said PPC's Business Development Executive Trevor Barnard.
The plant is expected to take around 26 months to complete and commissioning is scheduled for the last quarter of 2016. The new plant will generate approximately 300 direct jobs once fully operational.
Tongling Shangfeng Cement to expand into Kyrgyzstan 13 August 2014
Kyrgyzstan: Gansu Shangfeng Cement has announced its subsidiary Tongling Shangfeng Cement has signed a cooperation letter of intent with Zhu Rongjun to buy equities and invest in Zeth Cement in Kyrgyzstan.
Initially the two companies intend to build a 300t/day clinker production line and support cement production lines in Chui province. Tongling Shangfeng will hold 58% of Zeth Cement and Zhu will own the remaining 42%. Zhu has agreed to inject limestone mining rights and land-use rights that the company owns or controls for cement production into Zeth.