BY Busayo Sotunde
Lafarge Africa Plc has completed the acquisition of Lafarge group’s shareholdings in Lafarge South Africa Holdings (Pty) Limited, AshakaCem Plc, Atlas Cement Company Limited and United Cement Company of Nigeria Limited.
The acquisition is in line with the company’s strategy to create a stronger platform for growth in sub-Saharan Africa.
The transaction will help the company consolidate its position in Africa and enhance its balance sheet to enable it finance expansion projects, chief executive officer of Lafarge Africa Group, Guillaume Roux, said, adding that the company had received all shareholder and regulatory approval.
“The achievement of this transaction was made possible through the support of our various stakeholders in these markets who have been supportive of this vision. We are now better positioned for the acceleration of the growth and development of our business, with a renewed focus on serving our customers and delivering value through provision of new products and services.”
Upon consolidation, Lafarge Africa is now the sixth largest entity listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), with a market capitalisation of N521.9bn.
Lafarge Africa, formerly known as Lafarge WAPCo Plc, is a subsidiary of France-based Company, Lafarge Group.
In June, the company announced its intention to consolidate its Nigerian and South African businesses.
The consolidation involved the transfer of Lafarge Group’s direct and indirect shareholdings in Lafarge South Africa Holding Limited (72.4 per cent) and its equity stakes in three other cement companies in Nigeria – United Cement Company of Nigeria Limited (35 per cent), Ashaka Cement Plc, (58.61 per cent) and Atlas Cement Company Limited (100 per cent) – to Lafarge Cement WAPCO for a cash consideration of $200m and the issuance of some 1.4 billion Lafarge Africa shares to the Lafarge Group.
Lafarge is currently working on increasing its production capacity to 17.5 million metric tonnes per annum by the year 2017.
It intends to add 2.5 million metric tonnes to its factory at Unicem and another 3 million metric tonnes in its Ashakacem factory.
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