Displaying items by tag: Acquisition
UltraTech buys Jaypee’s Madhya Pradesh cement plants
29 January 2015India: Jaiprakash Associates (Jaypee Group) has announced that it will sell two cement plants in Madhya Pradesh State to UltraTech Cement. The assets comprise cement plants and grinding facilities in Bela and Sidhi with a total capacity of 4.9Mt/yr, along with an associated 180MW power plant to supply them.
UltraTech will pay US$740m in non-convertible debentures (loan certificates) and shares worth US$16m for the facilities. It will also assume a net debt and negative working capital of US$128m associated with the businesses. This puts the overall value of the transaction at US$628m.
The sale is part of Jaypee's programme to pay-down debt. It has sold assets worth US$3.6bn in pursuit of this aim. This includes some US$1.6bn of assets in its cement business. However, it said that it remains India's third-largest cement producer, with a capacity of 22Mt/yr.
Jaypee's largest previous cement divestment was also to UltraTech. In 2014, it sold a 2.4Mt/yr cement plant in Kutch and a 2.4Mt/yr grinding plant in Wanakbori, both in Gujarat State, for US$620m. The deal was closed in June 2014. In September 2014, Jaypee announced the US$60m sale of its 1.5Mt/yr grinding plant in Panipat to Shree Cement. It also sold its 74% stake in Bokaro Jaypee Cement Limited, a cement joint venture with the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) to Dalmia Cement for US$115m.
LSR completes cement plant divestment to Eurocement
26 January 2015Russia: LSR Group has completed the sale of its cement plant in Slantsy, Leningrad to Eurocement. Following the closure of the deal, Eurocement has acquired full operating control over the facility. The plant, which began operations in September 2010, operates a 5000t/day clinker line and a 1.86Mt/yr cement line.
LSR reiterated that the divestment is part of its strategy of focusing on projects 'with the highest returns on invested capital and the fast-growing real estate development business.' As a result, LSR has significantly reduced its debt and made it 100% Ruble-based.
KKR expresses interest in Lafarge Tarmac sale with CRH
26 January 2015UK: An American private equity firm, KKR, is in talks to buy a stake in one of Britain's biggest building materials companies. KKR is understood to have teamed up with CRH. Together, they will bid for Euro6bn of assets put up for sale by Holcim and Lafarge.
CRH is in a strong position to win the race for the LafargeHolcim assets, although it is likely to be hit by regional competition issues if it is successful. As a result, it is said to have held discussions with KKR about an agreement that would see the private equity firm take control of some divisions of Holcim and Lafarge to assuage regulatory concerns.
Insiders have said that KKR has shown particular interest in the British assets of LafargeHolcim, which include Lafarge Tarmac, allegedly worth Euro2.27bn.
Lafarge India to buy back 14% stake from Barings Asia
22 January 2015India: Lafarge India has begun the process of buying back the 14% stake it sold to global private equity investor Barings Asia in May 2013 for US$265m. This comes about nine months after Lafarge and Switzerland's Holcim announced their intention to merge their global assets, including those in India.
The move is part of the sale agreement that Lafarge signed with Barings Asia, which said that any changes in shareholding structure will trigger the buy-back clause. According to local media, the process has just started and may take a few months. Once the Competition Commission (CC) has cleared the LafargeHolcim merger proposal, the process is expected to gather steam.
Lafarge Tarmac sells land for new Euro2.56bn theme park
13 January 2015UK: Lafarge Tarmac has agreed to sell land that once housed the UK's largest cement plant to allow the construction of a Euro2.56bn theme park.
The 1.37km2 Swanscombe Peninsula site in Kent has been earmarked as the home for the proposed London Paramount Entertainment Resort after developer London Resort Holding Company agreed a deal to buy the land. The sale follows an announcement in May 2014 that the resort would be designated a 'nationally significant' project.
"We take a long-term view of our landholdings from mineral extraction to development and restoration; creating jobs, supporting communities and continuing responsible environmental stewardship," said Lafarge Tarmac chief executive Cyrille Ragoucy. "We are proud to be part of this exciting project. This is a fitting legacy for land which has been owned by Lafarge Tarmac for over 140 years."
The sale is expected to go through once planning permission for the scheme is granted. London Resort Holding has already held two stages of public consultation, involving more than 4000 local people. Two more stages are planned ahead of a submission to the Planning Inspectorate in Autumn 2015.
"With this agreement in place, the vision for Kent as the home of a nationally-significant, multi-billion pound entertainment resort employing thousands of people is moving closer to becoming a reality," said David Testa, executive director of London Resort Holding. "It further underlies our commitment to delivering the project and is welcome news as we continue to consultant and engagement with the local Dartford and Gravesham communities living near the site and more widely with our interested parties."
Sançim acquired by Aşkale Çimento
09 January 2015Turkey: Turkish cement company Sançim Cimento has been acquired by Aşkale Çimento. The acquisition follows the recently-aborted acquisition of Sançim by another firm, Çimsa, for Euro185.m. The new owner of Sançim is a joint venture of Sönmez Holding (43%), Aunde Teknik (38%), E.N.A. Tekstil (10%) and Umut Insaat (9%).
Peru/China: China's Jidong Development Group may finalise discussions regarding the takeover of Peruvian cement firm Cementos Interoceanicos in the next couple of weeks, according to local media. With the acquisition, Jidong will be able to further expand its global reach.
Jidong representatives have visited Cementos Interoceanicos' activities in Puno, southeast Peru, as part of the negotiations process, the news provider explained, adding that Cementos Interoceanicos is currently developing its manufacturing plant in the region. Cementos Interoceanicos also holds mining rights to 54km2 of land in the Puno region, smaller areas in Arequipa and other areas.
Belarus government to repay cement companies’ debts to China
07 January 2015Belarus: The Belarusian government will acquire additional stakes in three cement companies in exchange for helping them to repay loans to China's Eximbank. The Council of Ministers has issued a directive that provides for restructuring the overdue debts incurred by Belarusian Cement Plant, Krychawtsementnashyfer and Krasnaselskbudmateryyaly as of 1 October 2014.
The three cement producers will receive the bailout on condition that they meet their profitability of sales targets for 2015 and fulfil their obligations to Eximbank starting 2015. Krasnaselskbudmateryyaly, Belarusian Cement Plant and Krychawtsementnashyfer owe US$34.4m, US$43.7m and US$50.6m to the Chinese bank, respectively, in overdue loan payments.
Holcim and Cemex close transactions in Europe
06 January 2015Europe: Holcim and Cemex have announced the successful closure of a series of transactions in Europe.
Holcim has acquired Cemex's operations in western Germany and the Netherlands, while Cemex has taken over Holcim Czech Republic with all of its subsidiaries in that country. In Spain, Cemex has purchased Holcim's Gador cement plant and Yeles grinding station, while Holcim keeps its remaining operations.
As a result of the transactions, Cemex paid Holcim Euro45m in cash. Holcim expects sustainable additional operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of at least Euro10m/yr.
US/UK: HeidelbergCement has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with an American affiliate of Lone Star Funds to sell its North American and UK building products business for an aggregate purchase price of US$1.4bn. HeidelbergCement said that up to US$100m will be payable in 2016, depending on the performance of the business in 2015. The deal excludes HeidelbergCement's Western Canada business. HeidelbergCement expects the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2015.
The sale of Hanson Building Products is consistent with HeidelbergCement's strategy of focusing on processing and refining raw materials for its core products of cement and aggregates and further downstream activities, according to a HeidelbergCement spokesperson. HeidelbergCement will retain its Hanson units in the cement, crushed stone, sand and asphalt businesses in the UK.