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Eastern Province Cement general manager steps down
Written by Global Cement staff
24 September 2014
Saudi Arabia: Eastern Province Cement has announced that the board accepted the resignation of general manager Zamil Al-Muqrin on 21 September 2014, effective from 1 January 2015.
Chamber of mines chief executive replaces Gordhan
Written by Global Cement staff
24 September 2014
South Africa: Chamber of Mines chief executive Bheki Sibiya had been appointed interim executive chairman of PPC. "This interim appointment has been approved by the office-bearers of the Chamber of Mines and is with immediate effect and until 31 December 2014," said a Chamber of Mines statement. The chamber's chief operating officer, Roger Baxter, will serve as acting chief executive until the end of December 2014.
PPC chief executive Ketso Gordhan resigned on 22 September 2014 with immediate effect, Business Day reported. He was appointed in January 2013.
Fighting for the crumbs
Written by Global Cement stafff
24 September 2014
A significant amount of recent news has come from the fallout from the proposed LafargeHolcim merger. Lafarge and Holcim, as well as a raft of global cement producers, are stepping up activity and those outside the deal are starting to jostle for position. They will want to take advantage of the many opportunities to snap something up from the long list of assets to be sold.
First up, Turkey's Sabançi Holding has been reported to be investigating the LafargeHolcim divestments, although the actual targets were not reported. There are none on offer in Turkey itself but potential Sabançi interests could lie in nearby Romania, Serbia or Hungary. Of course, it isn't possible to rule out any wider ambitions.
Next we have Elementia, which has acquired Lafarge's former stake in their Mexican joint venture, prior to the announcement of its initial public offering there. In Singapore, CVC Partners and the Government entered discussions over the purchase of assets. It was earlier agreed by the Singaporean competition authorities that Lafarge and Holcim would be able to merge due to them being relatively small players in that market.
Meanwhile, in the UK and the US, HeidelbergCement is positioning itself via share deals in its subsidiary Hanson Building Products so that it may bid for the LafargeHolcim divestments in the US and UK. Hanson Building Products has filed for an Initial Public Offering in the US in preparation for HeidelbergCement to sell it later in the year. This sounds like a case of HeidelbergCement focusing on its core markets of cement.
There have also been moves by Lafarge and Holcim, most notably their approach this week to the European Union (EU) prior to the merger. The multinationals plan to iron out possible EU concerns over the merged company's market power before filing for approval of the deal, the step that starts an EU review.
Activity seems to be hotting up ahead of the LafargeHolcim merge and it will only intensify. It will be interesting to see which other multinational and regional players decide to 'show their hand' through the rest of the merger process. There are many more assets in Austria, France, Germany, the UK, Canada, Mauritius, the Philippines and Brazil to be divided up before the LafargeHolcim merger can be completed.
Elementia plans IPO 23 September 2014
Mexico: Elementia plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO), according to a filing with the Mexican stock exchange. The size of the issue is yet to be determined.
CEO of PPC resigns after clash with the board 23 September 2014
South Africa: The CEO of PPC, Ketso Gordhan, resigned abruptly on 22 September 2014. The company cited clashes between him and the board. Gordhan, who was appointed at the start of 2013, leaves the company in the middle of an expansion drive into the rest of Africa that he had spearheaded to offset slowing demand at home.
PPC said that Gordhan's departure was prompted by 'differences of opinion' with the board, regarding 'procedures for the approval of certain decisions.' However, he has agreed to continue to provide input to crucial projects he was leading. The non-executive chairman Bheki Sibiya will act as the executive chairman until the appointment of a new CEO.