04 July 2016
Saudi Arabia: ABB has commissioned an electrical infrastructure upgrade for the Eastern Province Cement Company’s (EPCC) two cement production lines at its plant in Al Khursaniya. The project upgraded the existing 75MV Switchgear Panels and integrated the power supply systems with the ABB 800xA automation system already in place. Commissioning was completed in February 2016.
“ABB has completed the final upgrade on site in a record time during the planned maintenance shutdowns of the plant,” said Mohammad Arif Khan, Electrical and Instrumentation Manager at EPCC. “The excellent teamwork between EPCC and ABB engineers made it possible to meet this challenge without affecting the production of the other production lines.”
The scope of supply included the replacement of the 30-year old protection compartment of 75MV (13.8kV and 4.16kV) Switchgear Panels with the latest generation of ABB Relion protection relays, integration via IEC61850 with the 800xA automation system and the delivery of computer and network equipment. ABB also provided project management, engineering, site services and training together with its supplier EcoWatt Projects.
Israeli court enters Lev Baron cement import row 04 July 2016
Israel: The Supreme Court has posted a temporary injunction preventing the Israel Ports Development & Assets Company and the Ashdod Port Company from halting the cement imports of Lev Baron Commodities. The injunction was imposed in response to an appeal by Lev Baron against Israel Ports and Ashdod Port, according to Israel Business Arena. The move by the court is the latest in a battle between Lev Baron and Israel Ports over the terms of their relationship.
Lev Baron imports cement into Israel, mainly from Cyprus and Turkey. In 2015, it imported 800,000t of cement and is expected to reach 900,000t in 2016. Lev Baron’s imports account for 14% of the cement supply in Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Anhui Conch cancels deal to buy West China Cement 04 July 2016
China: Anhui Conch has cancelled a deal to buy West China Cement. The commerce authorities failed to approve the deal by a deadline on 30 June 2016. Anhui Conch offered nearly US$600m to buy West China Cement in November 2015. In a joint statement the cement producers said that ‘certain conditions’ including approval by the authorities had not been met. They added that, “they will continue to meet future opportunities for business collaboration in different structures or manners.”
Italy: HeidelbergCement has completed its acquisition of a 45% share in Italcementi from Italmobiliare. All conditions for the closing of the transaction have been fulfilled following the approval by the relevant competition authorities. The purchase triggers a mandatory tender offer to the remaining shareholders of Italcementi. HeidelbergCement expects the entire transaction to be completed in the second half of 2016.
“By adding Italcementi to our group, we are considerably strengthening our global footprint and innovation capabilities. We see significant potential for value creation with the realisation of synergies and by learning from each other’s best practices. From now on, we will focus all our efforts on the integration of Italcementi into our group,” said Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the management board of HeidelbergCement.
On 28 July 2015, HeidelbergCement and Italmobiliare entered into a share purchase agreement about the acquisition of a 45% shareholding in Italcementi. On 1 July 2016 HeidelbergCement acquired 157.17 million ordinary shares, representing 45% of the share capital of Italcementi for a total consideration of Euro1.67bn. 82.82 million ordinary shares were acquired against cash. The remaining 74.35 million ordinary shares were acquired against the assignment of 10.5 million newly issued shares of HeidelbergCement. Following this, Italmobiliare has become the second largest industrial shareholder of HeidelbergCement, with a stake of 5.3%.
In the share purchase agreement, Italmobiliare agreed to purchase certain non-core assets of Italcementi, including Italgen, Bravosolution, and certain non-core real estate. Italcementi had sold these assets to Italmobiliare on 30 June 2016 for total proceeds of Euro237m.
The acquisition of the 45% stake in Italcementi triggers the obligation to execute a mandatory tender offer to the remaining shareholders of Italcementi. The offering document will be filed with the Italian Securities and Exchange Commission (CONSOB), within 20 days after the closing, and will be published upon completion of CONSOB’s review period. The acceptance period will be agreed with Borsa Italiana. The acceptance period is expected to commence at the end of August 2016.