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Displaying items by tag: Acquisition
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.
Bestway Cement Limited takes over Lafarge Pakistan
23 April 2015Pakistan: Bestway Cement, a subsidiary of Bestway Group, has announced assumption of management control of Lafarge Pakistan. This follows the company's successful bid for 75.86% of Lafarge Pakistan's shares for US$329m in July 2014. Bestway Cement also acquired another 12.07% shares of the target company through the public offer process taking its shareholding in Lafarge Pakistan to 87.93%.
Acquisition of Lafarge Pakistan's 2.5Mt/yr cement plant located in Chakwal, means that Bestway Cement has now become the largest cement manufacturer in Pakistan with a total capacity of more than 8Mt/yr representing 18% of the entire industry's capacity in the country. Bestway intends to invest nearly US$30m in the acquired company including, among other things, an environmentally friendly waste heat recovery power plant.
Century Textiles to sell cement business to UltraTech
22 April 2015India: Century Textiles & Industries is reportedly planning to sell its cement business and merge it in an all-share deal with India's largest cement maker UltraTech. Both companies are in the final stages of a plan to merge the cement businesses, according to local media.
Once approved by shareholders, the merged entity's cement production capacity would total 87M/yr. This would help UltraTech achieve 100Mt/yr ahead of its target of 2020. UltraTech would gain access to the eastern market while strengthening its presence in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
US: Lafarge and Holcim have announced further details on the package of assets that they propose to divest in the US as part of their planned merger to create LafargeHolcim. The divestments include:
- Lafarge's 1.1Mt/yr Davenport cement plant in Iowa and seven terminals along the Mississippi River. The units will be sold to Summit Materials for US$450m in cash plus Summit's Bettendorf, Iowa cement terminal;
- Holcim terminals in Michigan and Illinois;
- Holcim Skyway 600,000t/yr slag grinding station in Illinois;
- Holcim Camden 700,000t/yr slag grinding station in New Jersey, along with a terminal in Massachusetts.
The proposed divestments have been negotiated with the staff of the Federal Trade Commission and remain subject to review and approval by the commission. The divestments will be completed subject to acceptance by the commission and to the closing of the merger between Holcim and Lafarge.
Semen Indonesia to acquire second Vietnamese cement firm
17 April 2015Vietnam: The Indonesian state-owned cement manufacturer Semen Indonesia plans to acquire a second Vietnamese cement company.
Semen Indonesia's finance director Ahyanizzaman said that the company has allocated a total capital expenditure of US$546 – 857m in 2015 to expand its operations, which includes the acquisition of the Vietnamese company. He said that the company was currently conducting a due diligence audit on the Vietnamese firm and that this was expected to be completed by the end of the first half of 2015. "The Vietnamese company is a private firm, which has a local market share of about 4%," said Ahyanizzaman.
If Semen Indonesia goes ahead with the acquisition, it will be its second subsidiary in Vietnam. Through its Vietnamese subsidiary Thang Long Cement Company, it produces about 2.5Mt/yr a year in the country. Ahyanizzaman said the company would borrow up to US$77.9m to support the expansion plan.
Semen Indonesia president director Suparni said that the acquisition plan was part of the company's strategy to take advantage of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which would be implemented before the end of 2015. "Domestic and regional operations cannot be separated when the AEC is implemented, so we want to synergise our business," said Suparni.
CRH sells 45% stake in Doras for Euro37m
15 April 2015France: CRH has sold its stake in a French joint venture company called Doras to its partner, Samse, for just under Euro37m. Doras operates specialist and general builders merchants and is particularly prominent in the Burgundy and Franche Comté regions in eastern France. CRH has now sold its 45% stake in the company to the Samse Group, which already holds a 55% share in the firm, for Euro36.6m. The move was recently given the green light by the Competition Authority.
Ireland: CRH is paying Euro700m 'over the odds' for a Euro6.5bn acquisition that would make it the world's third-biggest building materials supplier, according to a report from US-based AllianceBernstein (AB), a global asset management company.
CRH has agreed to buy a number of mostly European assets from Lafarge and Holcim for Euro6.5bn so the merging companies can get competition clearance for their plan to create the cement industry's biggest company. However, AB has raised doubts about the value of the deal for CRH. The move was also was overwhelmingly approved by shareholders at a recent extraordinary general meeting.
In a detailed report into the deal, AB said that the move represented "A step in the wrong direction for CRH. The acquisition price of Euro6.5bn is 12% above our Euro5.8bn estimate of the fair value of the assets."