Displaying items by tag: Acquisition
India: According to the Financial Express, Jaiprakash Associates is close to selling its 1Mt/yr capacity cement plant at Sikandarabad, Uttar Pradesh to HeidelbergCement for around US$78.6m.
If the deal materialises, it would be the fifth cement asset sale by Jaiprakash Associates in little over a year. The group is looking to sell assets, including cement and power plants, to reduce its large debt. The aggregate debt of the group at the end of the 2014 financial year, which ended on 31 March 2014, stood at around US$8.65bn. Though it has so far divested assets worth US$2.36bn, the impact of the asset sales is yet to reflect on the group's balance sheet. It aims to cut down debt further by around US$1.57bn by the end of the current 2016 fiscal year, which ends on 31 March 2016. So far, Jaiprakash Associates has divested around 13Mt/yr of its overall cement capacity and is left with around 23Mt/yr.
Unnamed sources have said that Jaiprakash Associates also plans to sell two more of its cement plants, in Baga and Bagheri in Himachal Pradesh and Balaji in Andhra Pradesh, but the matter is stuck due to valuation issues. Aditya Birla Group's UltraTech Cement and HeidelbergCement have reportedly been in talks regarding their acquisition.
India: According to the Irish Examiner, CRH is being linked with a second potential Asian deal in as many weeks, this one with a price tag of around US$1bn. A Mergermarket report has it that CRH is one of 16 likely bidders for assets in eastern India being sold by Lafarge. The disposal makes up part of the conditions related to Lafarge's merger with Holcim.
Local press stated that CRH is an 'obvious bidder' given that it already has a presence in southern India and is in the process of buying US$7.32bn of assets as part of the LafargeHolcim deal. However, Mergermarket claims CRH is vying with HeidelbergCement, among others, for the new assets and has until the end of June 2015 to complete due diligence and until 15 July 2015 to submit a binding bid.
Ukraine: Dyckerhoff Cement Ukraine has reported a net loss of Euro8136 for 2014, a net revenue of Euro398,695. Compared to 2013, its net loss fell 7.2-fold and its revenue fell 6.6-fold.
Dyckerhoff Cement Ukraine plans to acquire the Volyn Cement plant in Rivne and the YUGcement plant in Mykolaiv. The plants are already part of Dyckerhoff and would be turned into separate divisions in order to increase sales in Ukraine. The planned production capacity of Volyn Cement is 2Mt/yr, while YUGcement produces 1.25Mt/yr of cement.
Dyckerhoff Cement Ukraine's shareholders will also consider the early termination of powers of the current supervisory board and the election of a new one.
Morgan Stanley buys 0.62% stake in Prism Cement
28 May 2015India: Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore has bought a 0.62% stake in Prism Cement for US$4.98m. The 3.14m shares were purchased at a price of US$1.58/share.
Lafarge’s Indian divestments receive six bids
20 May 2015India: Six foreign and domestic cement companies, along with one private equity firm, have expressed interest in buying the assets that Lafarge is divesting in India before it closes its merger with Holcim. The bids were in excess of US$627m.
The deadline for submitting non-binding bids for the assets expired on 16 May 2015. Ahead of that deadline, local media reported that bids came from Shree Cement, Chettinad Cement, HeidelbergCement India, The Ramco Cements, CRH and Blackstone Group.
As a precondition to clearing Indian leg of the LafargeHolcim, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) directed Lafarge to sell two of its assets in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. These are a cement plant at Sonadih, Chhattisgarh and a grinding plant at Jojobera, Jharkhand, with a total capacity of approximately 5Mt/yr. In its directions, the CCI said that Lafarge should sell its assets 'to relatively smaller players, having an installed capacity of less than 5% of their total capacity in the relevant geographic market.'
With the non-binding bids in, Lafarge is likely to shortlist bidders by the middle of June 2015. The deal is likely to be concluded in July 2015.
India: UltraTech Cement plans to buy Jaiprakash Associates' Bhilai plant for US$330 – 345m. The plant has US$87.5m of debt.
Italy: Buzzi Unicem's offer to buy local Sacci has expired after being rejected by the banks and creditors. Buzzi is no longer bound to any commitment. Buzzi Unicem filed a binding offer in March 2015 to acquire 99.5% of Sacci for Euro120m, planning to fund the deal with available cash and/or existing credit facilities. Sacci has been undergoing debt restructuring under Italy's bankruptcy act. The deal was subject to approval by the anti-trust authority and the banks and creditors involved in the debt restructuring of Sacci.
Puerto Rico: Cementos Argos has purchased a 60% stake for US$18m in Wetvan Overseas, a company that controls a cement terminal in Puerto Rico. The remaining 40% belongs to Grupo Vicini, a Dominican business group holding investments in the Caribbean and Central America. The acquisition will give Argos a 15% market share in Puerto Rica.
"With this transaction, we are entering a new market that is closely tied to the US economy, that currently consumes close to 650,000t/yr and whose growth perspectives are being driven by the latent recovery and the new programs aimed at stimulating investment in Puerto Rico. The acquisition strengthens our position as leader in the region," said Jorge Mario Velásquez, CEO of Argos.
With the new purchase Argos increases its presence in the Americas with operations in Antigua, Colombia, Curacao, Dominica, the US, Haiti, Honduras, French Guiana, Panama, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Saint Martin, Saint Thomas and Suriname.
Libya Holdings Group to acquire Libyan Cement Company
29 April 2015Libya: Libya Holdings Group (LHG) is to acquire a majority stake in Libyan Cement Company through a special purpose acquisition vehicle. The LHG sponsored vehicle will acquire a controlling interest in Libyan Cement Company from QuadraCir Group (QuadraCir). It is anticipated that the acquisition will close by 30 April 2015. The transaction will be funded by LHG, using its existing cash resources, together with some of the leading families and industrial companies in the Gulf Cooperation Council region as co-investors.
Libyan Cement Company is the oldest cement company in Libya, has a significant market share in the Libyan cement market, and is the only producer of cement in eastern Libya. Under the terms of the acquisition, LHG and its co-investors intend to invest in the cement producer to stabilise operations and increase cement production capacity to over 3Mt/yr. The investment is targeted to meet the demand for cement in eastern Libya which is reliant on imports.
"We are very pleased to have been able to execute this transaction in a complex environment, retaining operational continuity for the cement company and at the same time securing its long-term growth potential which will benefit the Libyan economy," said Ahmed Ben Halim, Founder and CEO of LHG.
US: Essroc Italcementi Group has signed an agreement with Holcim to purchase its slag cement grinding facility in Camden, New Jeresy. As part of the transaction, Essroc will also obtain Holcim's cement terminal in Everett, Massachusetts. The acquisition will finalise when the pending Holcim and Lafarge merger completes later in 2015.
"The acquisition of the Camden slag grinding facility reiterates Essroc's commitment to the northeast market," said Francesco Carantani, Essroc's president and chief executive officer. "With the focus on sustainability and durability, there is a projected growth in the demand and usage of slag cement."
The Camden facility can produce upwards of 700,000t/yr of slag cement. Essroc currently produces slag cement at its Picton, Ontario, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, cement plants and at its slag grinding facility in Middlebranch, Ohio. With the addition of Camden, Essroc has a combined annual production capacity in excess of 1Mt/yr. Holcim's staff in Camden and Everett will join Essroc once the transaction completes.