Displaying items by tag: Acquisition
Siam City Cement buys Holcim Lanka
25 July 2016Sri Lanka: LafargeHolcim has signed an agreement with Siam City Cement to sell Holcim Lanka for US$400m. Holcim Lanka operates one integrated plant and one grinding plant in the country. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016.
The proceeds from the sale of Holcim Lanka will be used by Lafarge Holcim to further reduce debt. The Sri Lanka sale follows the divestment of Lafarge India to Nirma that was announced in mid-July 2016. The group says it has now secured three-quarters of its targets to reduce its debt by Euro3.2bn in 2016.
Cementir Holding buys Compagnie des Ciments Belges
25 July 2016Belgium: HeidelbergCement, through its subsidiary Ciments Français, has agreed to sell its operations in Belgium, primarily consisting of Italcementi’s Belgian subsidiary Compagnie des Ciments Belges (CCB), to Aalborg Portland Holding, a subsidiary indirectly 100% controlled by Cementir Holding. The transaction has been valued at Euro312m on a cash and debt-free basis. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2016.
“With the disposal of the Belgium assets we fulfil the obligation of the European Commission and improve the net financial position of HeidelbergCement after the acquisition of the 45% share in Italcementi,” said Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement. “We are well on track to reach our target of at least Euro1bn of proceeds from disposals.”
The divestment of operations in Belgium was offered to the European Commission in order to address competition concerns caused by the group’s acquisition of Italcementi. The sale to Cementir Holding is subject to the approval of the European Commission.
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.
India: Sagar Cements has received approval to buy a cement grinding plant in Bayyavaram, Andhra Pradesh owned by Toshali Cements for US$8.9m. The sale is expected to be completed by 30 September 2016 subject to obtaining due diligence and other approvals.
Following the acquisition, Sagar Cements intends to increase the grinding plant’s production capacity to 3Mt/yr with an investment of up to US$0.89m. The new unit will enable Sagar Cements to reduce its logistical costs and introduce slag cement to markets in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and parts of Orissa.
US: HGH Infrared Systems, the American subsidiary of HGH Systemes Infrarouges (HGH), based in Boston, Massachusetts, has just acquired Electro Optical Industries (EOI), based in Santa Barbara, in California. The new entity will be named Electro Optical Industries Inc.
EOI, a pioneer of electro-optical test instruments, has been a provider of infrared, visible and ultra violet testing and calibration equipment since 1964.
Commenting on the transaction, Thierry Campos, President of the newly formed Electro Optical Industries Inc said, “This merger will greatly enhance our development and manufacturing capabilities in the USA. It will also significantly extend our product line and service offerings to the benefit of our customers worldwide. We are very excited by this historic move which will add to our rapid expansion and will position our group as a world leader in infrared instruments and wide area surveillance systems.”
US Federal Trade Commission provides clearance for acquisition of Italcementi by HeidelbergCement
20 June 2016US: HeidelbergCement and Italcementi have reached an agreement with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to allow the company’s merger to proceed on schedule. The FTC accepted the proposed divestment of operations in the US, primarily consisting of Italcementi’s Martinsburg cement plant in West Virginia and up to eleven terminals on 17 June 2016. All competition approvals necessary for closing the Italcementi acquisition have now been obtained.
“We are very pleased with the positive decision of the Federal Trade Commission,” said Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement. “We are now on track to close the acquisition of the 45% stake in Italcementi which we are planning together with Italmobiliare for the beginning of July 2016.” The divestment process for the assets in US has already started and significant interest has already been recorded. Citi is mandated as sell side advisor for the disposal.
The planned full acquisition of Italcementi will proceed in two steps following approval by the necessary competition bodies. HeidelbergCement will initially acquire a controlling stake of 45% from Italmobiliare. HeidelbergCement will then propose a public mandatory offer to the remaining shareholders for the acquisition of their shares in return for a cash payment. The exact timing of the mandatory offer will be released at a later date. HeidelbergCement expects the entire transaction to be completed in the second half of 2016.
Sri Lanka: South Korean conglomerate AFKO Group GMEX has expressed interest in reopening the Kankesanthurai cement plant located in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, the country’s Industry and Commerce Ministry has said, according to the Daily Mirror.
“AFKO specialises in cement projects. We are keen to partner in the Kankesanthurai Cement Project and are ready to enter with US$450m as a start. We shall also bring in all the necessary machinery and technology and can start from scratch. We only need Sri Lanka’s land and labour,” said AFKO Group GMEX chairman Keun Young Lee at a meeting with Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen in Colombo. Lee also expressed interest in cement production elsewhere in Sri Lanka.
AFKO intends to start a feasibility study shortly. Ssangyong C&T is the favoured engineering company to start construction at the site. AFKO Group, which merged with Korea’s multinational Hyundai Group in 2008, runs its own construction and cement projects in Africa and elsewhere.
The Kankesanthurai cement plant started operations in 1950 under the Department of Industries and was converted to a public corporation in 1956, being named as Kankesan Cement Works. It closed in 1991 due the civil war. At that time it had a production capacity of 115,000t/yr. In 2011 – 2012 Sri Lanka Cement Corporation and Lanka Cement Limited were planning to resume bagging at the plant. Previously, UAE-based cement company Ras Al Khaimah had been linked to a US$100m investment plan in the plant.
Europe: The European Commission (EC) has cleared the acquisition of Italcementi by HeidelbergCement under the condition that HeidelbergCement sell Italcementi's entire business in Belgium. The EC expressed concern that the merged companies would have owned more than 50% of the market share in the country.
The EC accepted that the two companies’ businesses were largely complimentary in Europe. HeidelbergCement is active in Northern, Western and Central Europe whereas Italcementi focuses on Southern Europe, operating cement facilities in Italy, France, Spain and Greece. Italcementi is also active in Belgium and Bulgaria. However, it noted that the companies’ Ordinary Portland Cement activities overlapped substantially in in Belgium and to a lesser extent in Southern Italy. It also pointed out that there are cross-border overlaps between their grey cement activities in Germany and France and in Bulgaria and Romania. The merging parties' activities in aggregates and ready-mix concrete mainly overlap in Belgium and Northern Spain whereas their white cement activities overlap primarily in Belgium, France and Austria.
HeidelbergCement has offered to sell Italcementi’s Belgian subsidiary Compagnie des Ciments Belges (CCB). The divestment includes: all of Italcementi's cement, ready-mix and aggregates assets in Belgium; Italcementi's stake in an existing limestone joint venture with LafargeHolcim; a portion of HeidelbergCement's limestone quarry in Antoing provided in exchange for a portion of Italcementi's Barry quarry, which will be retained by HeidelbergCement.
“We are very pleased with the positive decision of the European Commission,” says Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement. “This decision is an important milestone on our way to the full acquisition of Italcementi.” HeidelbergCement. Is still awaiting the decision of the US regulator the Federal Trade Commission for approval in that territory.
Lafarge Africa approves acquisition of UNICEM
16 May 2016Nigeria: The board of directors of Lafarge Africa has approved the acquisition of an additional 50% equity interest in the Untied Cement Company of Nigeria (UNICEM). The purchase was handled on the same terms of its initial acquisition of 35%. Following the acquisition Lafarge Africa will own an indirect interest of 100% in UNICEM.
The 50% share is currently held by Egyptian Cement Holdings, a company jointly owned by LafargeHolcim and Lafarge Africa. LafargeHolcim owns Egyptian Cement Holdings via Holcibel. Lafarge Africa is buying its latest purchase of shares from Holcibel.
CNBM cancels acquisition of Shanshui Cement
11 May 2016China: CNBM has cancelled its acquisition of Shanshui Cement due to changes in the board composition, disputes regarding the control of Shandong Shanshui Cement Group, the financial difficulties of Shanshui Cement and the prolonged suspension of trading of the shares in Shanshui Cement. It added that the final issue ‘significantly and adversely’ affected the liquidity of the company and impaired attempts to determine the current market price of shares in Shanshui Cement. Shanshui Cement has faced financial troubles since a shareholder battle for control of the company took place in late 2015.