Displaying items by tag: Shares
True North buys majority stake in Shree Digvijay
17 April 2019India: Private equity company True North has purchased a 54% stake in Shree Digvijay for a reported US$17m from Brazil’s Votorantim Cementos. Other companies bought the rest of Votorantim’s 75% share in the business, according to Bloomberg. True North signed a deal to buy the cement producer in late 2018. Shree Digvijay operates an integrated cement plant at Jamnagr in Gujarat.
Kenya/South Africa: Kenya’s ARM Cement is fighting moves by minority investors in South Africa’s Mafeking Cement to buy it out for a nominal sum. ARM Cement is attempting to sell its 70% stake in the company for around US$3m as part of its administration process, according to the Business Daily newspaper. Mafeking Cement owns limestone reserves in north-west South Africa and ARM Cement originally took a stake in the company to raise investment and eventually build a cement plant.
However, the minority investors have invoked parts of the shareholders’ agreement and filed a court application in South Africa that, if successful, would allow them buy out ARM Cement’s stake for a nominal price less than US$1. ARM Cement’s administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers have taken steps to counter the move.
HeidelbergCement reduces stake in Ciments du Maroc
25 February 2019Morocco: HeidelbergCement has sold a 7.8% share of its stake in Ciments du Maroc to an unnamed local investor for around Euro140m. Following the transaction the German building materials producer retains a controlling share of 54.6% in its subsidiary. It has reduced its stake in Ciments du Maroc as part of its action plan to optimise its portfolio and improve cash generation. The group has a target of Euro1.5bn of asset divestments by the end of 2020.
“HeidelbergCement is fully committed to remain the long-term majority shareholder of Ciments du Maroc, a key strategic asset within the group’s portfolio,” said Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement.
Titan Group’s share exchange offer fails
29 January 2019Greece: Titan Group’s share exchange offer between its subsidiaries has failed. It blamed this on a lack of ordinary shares being tendered despite the support of Titan’s core shareholders and its board of directors. The voluntary share offer was intended to help list its shares at exchanges in Brussels and Paris. The group said that its strategy remained focused on international growth. It added that broadening sources of funding and improving access to international capital and credit markets was an important priority.
Retired workers demand 10% share of Soboce
27 December 2018Bolivia: A group of retired workers who used to work for Sociedad Boliviana de Cemento (Soboce) have asked for a 10% share in the cement producer. They have made their request to the company’s largest shareholder, the businessman and politician Samuel Doria Medina, according to the La Razon newspaper. They were allocated a 10% share in the business in 1975. However, the pensioners allege that Doria Medina cancelled their shares using false documentation. Doria Medina holds a 49% share in the company. He sold the other 51% share for US$300m to Holding Cementero, the largest shareholder of Consorcio Cementero del Sur, which is part of Gloria Group in 2014.
Zement Leube buys minority stake in Asamer
21 November 2018Austria: Zement Leube has acquired a 24.99% stake in Asamer. It made the purchase from Kurt Asamer who had decided to leave his 33% share in the business, according to the Oberösterreichische Nachrichten (OÖN) newspaper. The other partners in the business, Manfred Asamer and Robert Pree, have taken over some of Kurt Asamer’s holdings given them a majority share of 75.01%. Asamer is a building materials company that producer’s aggregates and concrete. It also owns cement production assets, including Fabrika Cementa Lukavac in Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Canada: Quebec's Ministry of Economy and Innovation has confirmed that it has received a request from the shareholders of McInnis Cement to swap the debt the province holds in the venture for equity. A request has been made to the ministry and to Investissement Québec, the provincial government's investment arm, to convert almost US$200m of debt into shares in the cement producer, according to the Globe and Mail newspaper. The newspaper speculates that an arrangement of this kind could be part of a potential deal with creditors to reduce the company’s liabilities and enable it to continue to operate.
McInnis Cement’s plant at Port-Daniel–Gascons was inaugurated in mid-2017. Construction at the site started in mid-2014. However, cost overruns saw the government-backed project delayed and then taken over by an investor, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a pension and insurance fund manager. The CDPQ was reportedly considering options including selling the plant or securing more investment in early 2018. Three bids were made for the cement producer but were rejected as being too low, according to reporting by the Globe and Mail. Interested parties in the company included Germany’s HeidelbergCement.
Titan Cement to list shares in Brussels and Paris
19 October 2018Greece: Titan Group has submitted a share exchange offer to help list its shares at exchanges in Brussels and Paris. Following the completion of the process, Belgium-based Titan Cement International will become Titan's ultimate parent company managed from Cyprus, according to Reuters. The group intends to list its shares at Euronext Brussels with secondary listings on the Athens Exchange and Euronext Paris. Titan says it wants to broaden its funding sources by improving access to international finance.
Emami Cement starts initial public offering for US$135m
15 October 2018India: Emami Cement has started the process to file an initial public offering (IPO) for US$135m. It plans to issue equity shares worth US$37.5m and offer another US$37.5bn to existing shareholders, according to the Business Standard newspaper. Proceeds from offering will be used for debt repayment and general corporate purposes. The cement producer has a production capacity of 5.6Mt/yr from three plants in eastern India. It is also planning to open a new 3.7Mt/yr plant in April 2019.
LafargeHolcim increases stake in Holcim Azerbaijan
01 October 2018Azerbaijan: LafargeHolcim has increased its stake in Holcim Azerbaijan to 76% from 66%. The move followed the decision by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to sell its 10% equity stake in the cement producer, according to ABZ News. Remaining shares in company are held by individual shareholders.