Lafarge Africa moves to buyout Ashakacem’s minority shareholders

Lafarge Africa Plc has launched a new bid to buy out the minority shareholders in its subsidiary, Ashaka Cement Plc.

The board of Lafarge Africa, in a statement signed by the company secretary, Zainab Umaru, stated that it has secured the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to proceed on a new tender offer to acquire the entire equity stakes held by minority shareholders in Ashaka Cement Plc.

Minority shareholders hold 392.864 million ordinary shares in Ashaka Cement, representing 17.54 per cent of the entire issued share capital of the Gombe State-based cement company.

The entire minority shareholdings were valued at N7.68 billion at Ashaka Cement’s closing price of N19.56 per shareon Wednesday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Already, the board of Lafarge Africa has notified the board of Ashaka Cement of its intention to proceed with the tender offer to all minority shareholders of the company.

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The tender offer, if successful, will make Ashaka Cement a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lafarge Africa Plc, and may lead to delisting of the cement company from the NSE.

Following the consolidation of Lafarge’s businesses in Nigeria and South Africa into Lafarge Africa, Lafarge Africa had acquired 58.61 per cent majority equity stake in Ashaka Cement. The majority equity stake was previously held by Lafarge Nigeria (UK) Limited. The acquisition was done through a block trade at the NSE.

Lafarge had on July 9, 2014 received shareholders’ approval to consolidate its cement businesses in Nigeria and combine these with South African operations to create a leading sub-Saharan building materials giant to be known as Lafarge Africa Plc. The consolidation was done by transferring Lafarge’s assets in South Africa and Nigeria to Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria Plc.

Under the transaction, Lafarge Group transferred its direct and indirect shareholdings in Lafarge South Africa Holding Limited of 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 Wapco for a cash consideration of $200 million and the issuance of some 1.4 billion Lafarge Africa shares to the Lafarge Group.

 

 

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