Displaying items by tag: shareholders

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.

Spain: Cementos Molins says that 13 of its 14 directors want to keep the company’s headquarters in Madrid following a request by a minority shareholder. This represents a hardening by the board on the issue following its move from near Barcelona in 2017, according to Crónica. The cement producer decided to move its registered address away from Sant Vicenc dels Horts in Catalonia following moves by the regional government to push for independence.

Malaysia: Hong Leong Group has offered to buy out the minority shareholders in Tasek. The offer values the cement producer at around US$160m, according to the Star newspaper. Hong Leong Group is controlled by Quek Leng Chan who owns an 80% stake in Tasek through Hong Leong Asia. If the minority shareholders accept the offer the the cement producer could become a private company. Tasek operates a 2.3Mt/yr integrated plant in Perak state.

UAE: The shareholders of RAK Cement have approved the conditional of the Newtec cement plant and Al-Banna quarry in Fujairah. The purchase was originally announced in late February 2019. It planned to buy the assets for around US$123m.

Egypt: The shareholders of Helwan Cement have approved the sale of its white cement plant in Minya Governorate to Emmar Industries. Helwan Cement, a 99.5% subsidiary owned by HeidelbergCement and Suez Cement, previously said that the sale was part of its plan to restructure the business and improve its financial position.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: Austria’s Asamer Baustoff plans to force a buyout of Fabrika Cementa Lukavac to acquire the remaining 0.46% share of the cement producer it does not already own. The building materials company intends to use its right to transfer voting shares from minority shareholders to itself, according to SeeNews. The move follows a previous move to increase its share in the cement producer in June 2018.

India: UltraTech Cement has agreed an acquisition schedule to buy the cement assets of Century Textiles & Industries. The cement production subsidiary of BK Birla Group comprises three integrated plants in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra respectively with a combined production capacity of 11.4Mt/yr and a 1Mt/yr grinding plant in West Bengal.

The takeover has been arranged via a demerger process whereby Century Textiles’ shareholders will be given shares in UltraTech Cement. The deal is subject to approval from shareholders, creditors, competition bodies and others. It is expected to be completed by early 2019.

Zambia: The Ventriglia family has been awarded full ownership of Zambezi Portland Cement by the High Court of Zambia. The resolution follows a 10-year battle between the Ventriglias and businessman Rajan Mahtani, according to the Times of Zambia. Mahtani’s company Finsbury Investments claimed a majority share in the cement producer but the Ventriglia family objected, asserting full ownership of the company.

Ireland: CRH says it has reduced its proposed executive salary increases following votes by a significant minority of its shareholders against a remuneration report. The board said that it would take into account the views of 39.7% of its shareholders by providing a lower salary increase to its finance director, although it had offered other benefits to the director instead. It added that the remuneration committee of the company intends to hold a consultation later in 2018.

South Africa: PPC has revealed details of a US$176m black economic empowerment (BEE) transaction. The transaction, together with the BEE shareholding from the two previous transactions, will result in an effective 30% BEE shareholding in PPC South Africa Holdings, making the company compliant with the Mining Charter, according to the Pretoria Times newspaper. Called PPC Phakama, meaning ‘rise up’ in Zulu, the transaction will result in PPC's equity shareholding in PPC South Africa being reduced from 100% to 74.6%.

Sibonginkosi Nyanga, an analyst at Momentum Securities, said that the cement producer was required by the Mining Charter to implement the transaction. It requires companies to have at least a 26% BEE shareholding. Non-compliance could have had the potential put PPC’s mining rights at risk.