Swiss company Lafarge Holcim has begun talks with PPC, South Africa’s biggest cement marker to combine assets, a move that could upstage its competitors’ dominance in the market.
Early last month Dangote cement had submitted a bid to take over PPC Southern African biggest cement maker, a strategic move that would have made Dangote the number one cement maker in Africa.
Dangote already has 65 percent stake in Sephaku the fourth largest cement maker in South Africa. If Dangote succeeds in taking over PPC, Dangote would have been not just only the largest producer of cement but also the number one player in three regions of the continent, West, East and South.
Currently Dangote has operations in about 14 African countries, and boost ownership of the largest cement factory in Sub-saharan Africa with 10.25mmpta capacity across three lines and a further 3mmtpa capacity currently being built in Lagos. However, the company lags behind on production capacity and continental reach.
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According to Bloomberg, Swiss company Lafeargeholcuim a subsidiary of Lafarge, Africa biggest cement producer has proposed a similar deal a partial cash and special dividends to shareholders to shareholders similar.
Simarly PPC is also considering an offer for a stake by Toronto based Fairfax, a proposal that is conditional on a merger with local rival firm Afrisam group ply Ltd.
Like a beautiful wife, there is a lot of interest from various companies and PPC chairman Peter Nelson has promised the board will evaluate proposals submitted especially those that will unlock value for shareholders”.
With the expected infrastructure boom in Africa by 2020, according to world bank the race is on, who will be the biggest player.
