Displaying items by tag: Stake

Taiwan: Asia Cement has bought all shares in Taiwan Chiahui Power Corporation belonging to co-owner Electric Power Development Company (J-Power). Electronic News has reported that the two companies have jointly owned Taiwan Chiahui Power Corporation since December 2002. The deal awaits ratification by the Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs Investment Commission.

India: Ramco Cement has increased its stake in Lynks Logistics to 69% following its acquisition of a 23% stake in the company for US$273,000. The group previously invested US$700 in a 46% stake on 27 January 2020.

India: Retail investor Radhakishan Damani has announced plans to acquire a majority stake in The India Cements. The deal is subject to the approval of competition authorities.

Germany: Pursuant to a sales agreement dated December 2019, Voith Group acquired a majority share in ELIN Motoren on 30 April 2020. Elin Motoren CEO Wolfgang Landler said, “ The future cooperation between the two companies will allow us to offer significant added value. Together we can develop system solutions and especially technologies in digitalisation. We are looking forward to the cooperation with Voith.”

Indonesia: Japan-based Taiheiyo Cement has announced its acquisition of a 15% stake in state-owned Semen Indonesia subsidiary Solusi Bangun Indonesia for between US$186m and US$232m, subject to the terms of a partnership agreement with Semen Indonesia.

Under the ‘2020 Mid-Term Management Plan,’ Taiheiyo Cement says that it aims to ‘become a corporate group with a strong presence in the Pacific Rim.’ Its partnership with Semen Indonesia is part of Taiheiyo Cement’s response to a forecasted long-term decline in domestic cement demand in Japan.

In the first quarter of 2020 Semen Indonesia sold 9.36Mt of cement, up by 7.0% year-on-year from 8.74Mt in the corresponding period of 2019. InsiderStories News has reported that domestic demand in the period fell by 4.9% to 14.9Mt from 15.7Mt, while exports fell by 2.5% to 1.39Mt from 1.42Mt but rose by 6.2% on a month-by-month basis in March 2020 to 3.09Mt from 2.91Mt in February 2020. April 2020’s cement sales are expected to be lower due to the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak.

Thailand: The coronavirus pandemic has caused Siam Cement Group (SCG) to postpone its initial public offering (IPO) for 30% of its packaging subsidiary SCG Packaging at a value of US$1.0bn, which was reportedly due to take place in early 2020. Reuters News has reported that the company has yet to set a new date for the IPO.

Rwanda: The Rwandan government has extended the sale of its stake in Cimerwa to 19 July 2019 to give potential investors more time. The initial deadline was 5 July 2019, according to the New Times newspaper. The government and its related shareholders own a 49% stake in the cement producer. The controlling share in the company is owned by South Africa’s PPC.

India: UltraTech Cement is in talks to buy a stake in Emami Cement for up to U$800m. Sources quoted by the Economic Times newspaper say that UltraTech Cement is working with private equity companies, including KKR and Temasek Holdings, on the potential deal. Emami Group is reportedly still deciding whether to sell its entire cement business, a stake or selected assets.

Emami Cement operates a 2.5Mt/yr integrated plant at Risda in Chhattisgarh and a 2.5Mt/yr grinding plant at Panagarh in West Bengal. It acquired a 0.6Mt/yr grinding plant at Bhabua, Bihar in September 2018. In addition, the firm has mining assets in Guntur in Andhra Pradesh and near Jaipur in Rajasthan. Its main markets are in West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. It markets its products under the Double Bull brand.

Rwanda: The Rwandan government has started to sell its stake in Cimerwa. It holds a 16.5% stake in the cement producer via the Agaciro Development Fund, Rwanda's Sovereign Wealth Fund, according to the New Times newspaper. Other shareholders, including SORAS Group, Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB), and Rwanda Investment Group (RIG), have also expressed interest in selling their shares, making a total of 49% of shares available. The government originally intended to start the sale in March 2019. Potential buyers have until 5 July 2019 to register their interest.

Cimerwa produced 0.36Mt of cement in 2018, a figure well below its production capacity of 0.6Mt/yr. However, the country imported 0.32Mt of cement in 2018 to meet local demand. The company has also made a loss in recent years. The integrated plant is run by South Africa’s PPC, which has a majority stake in the firm.

Switzerland: Thomas Schmidheiny says he has reduced his share in LafargeHolcim to 7.2% from 10.9% to diversify his investment portfolio. He said that the decision was part of his ‘retirement and heritage’ planning, according to Reuters. He has no plans to minimise his stake any further.

Schmidheiny was made honorary chairman of LafargeHolcim in 2018 when he stepped down from the board. He began his career at Holcim in 1970. He became a member of the executive committee six years later and served as chief executive officer (CEO) between 1978 and 2001. After joining the board of directors in 1978 he was chairman of the board of directors from 1984 until 2003. Later, he was a key part of the merger between Holcim and Lafarge that completed in 2015.