11 September 2017
CNBM and Sinoma enter into merger agreement 11 September 2017
China: China National Building Material (CNBM) and China National Materials Company (Sinoma) have entered into a merger agreement. The exchange ratio has been set at 1 Sinoma share to exchange for 0.85 CNBM share. After the merger is completed Sinoma will be absorbed into CNBM. Merger preparations for the two state-owned companies have been on going since mid-2016 when the Assets Supervision and Administration Commission announced the move.
CNBM is the largest cement company in the country with a reported total production capacity of around 409Mt/yr. Sinoma is a cement engineering company and the fourth largest cement producer in China with a total production capacity of approximately 112Mt/yr. The merger is part of the government’s plans to consolidate production domestically and refocus its industries internationally as part of the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative.
Dangote linked to PPC bid 11 September 2017
South Africa: Dangote Cement is considering making a bid for PPC. The interest of the Nigerian company could start a bidding contest for the South African cement producer, according to sources quoted by the Cape Times newspaper. Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings with AfriSam made an offer for PPC in early September 2017. However, PPC said that the offer was ‘undervalued.’ It also reported to shareholders that it had received two other offers. It is expected to present any offers it has received to shareholders in early October 2017.
Holcim US proposes solar unit for Hagerstown cement plant 11 September 2017
US: Holcim US has proposed a 10MW solar unit for its Hagerstown cement plant in Maryland. NRG Solar Hagerstown, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, will build the array and lease the site for 35 years, according to Herald-Mail Media. The solar unit could meet up to 20% of the plant’s annual power requirements and the project is expected to last for at least 20 years. Construction is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2018 and it is planned to last up to five months. No value for the project has been disclosed.
RHI and Magnesita make sales ahead of merger 11 September 2017
Europe: RHI and Magnesita have announced divestment agreements ahead of their proposed merger. RHI has signed a contract with a European refractories supplier for an undisclosed sum regarding the sale of its dolomite business in the European Economic Area. The sale consists of the production sites at Marone in Italy and Lugones in Spain. Magnesita has entered into a definitive agreement with Intocast to divest its business related to the production and supply of magnesia carbon bricks produced at the company's Oberhausen plant in Germany for Euro20.3m. Both sales were required by the European Commission as part of the merger process.
“With the sale of the two sites, the combination of RHI with Magnesita is also still right on schedule,” said RHI’s chief executive officer Stefan Borgas with regards to his company’s divestments “We expect the confirmation by the European Commission in the near future.”
RHI signed a contract in August 2017 to sell its production sites at San Vito in Italy and Sherbinska in Russia that produce fused cast refractories for the glass industry. Production at the company’s plant at Aken in Germany was stopped in the first half of 2017 for an indefinite period. RHI plans to sell or close the plant to maintain its production utilisation rate across the business.