- HeidelbergCement rushed to buy control of Italcementi after an African rival also showed interest in the Italian cement maker Reuters reports
- The report suggest Nigeria’s Dangote Cement is probably that company and had been circling Italcementi but did not make a formal offer.
- Carl Franklin, head of investor relations at Dangote Group, said the company did not comment on specific rumours “but as a large company we examine all options for growth”.
- Germany’s HeidelbergCement on Tuesday agreed to purchase 45 percent of Italcementi and bid for the rest in a deal that values its smaller Italian rival at 6.7 billion euros ($7.4 billion).
- As part of the deal, HeidelbergCement said it would make a mandatory offer for the rest of Italcementi provided its 1.67 billion-euro cash-and-shares bid for a 45 percent stake goes through as planned in 2016.
- “Everything was done to close (the deal) quickly because the sector is churning,” the source said. “Dangote Cement also saw a potential for synergies and was looking to strike a deal.”
- HeidelbergCement declined to comment on whether it had faced competition from Dangote.
- The deal is expected to create the world’s biggest player in aggregates, the No.2 in cement and the third-biggest in ready-mix concrete, allows for synergies that would not have been possible with an African or Indian player, the source added.