Lafarge Plc in a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has announced plans to merge United Cement Company (Unicem) with Atlas cement company. Unicem and Atlas are wholly owned subsidiaries of Lafarge Africa with the company holding 100% equity in the two entities. The merger will be by means of a court sanctioned court order.
The company has also received an Approval In Principle from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to convene the respective shareholder meetings of Lafarge Africa, Unicem and Atlas.
Why Lafarge is merging both companies
According to the notice, the merger will enable Lafarge Africa take benefits from the various synergies as well as benefit from the efficiencies arising from streamlining the operations of Unicem and Atlas
Lafarge Africa shares are currently trading at N52.39 in today’s morning session on the NSE. Year to date, Lafarge shares are up 22.15%.
Half year 2017 results by the company show revenue increased from N107 billion in 2016 to N154 billion in 2017. The company has also returned to profitability as it made an income before tax of N34.8 billion as at June 2017 compared to a loss before tax of N30.8 billion in 2016.
Atlas cement company was incorporated in 1999 and is based in Port Harcourt. Unicem cement was established in 2002 after assets belonging to the defunct Calabar Cement Company were acquired. and produces cement from a plant in Calabar. The Mfamosing plant, a modern production facility with an annual production capacity of 2.5MMT, was inaugurated in 2009.
Here is a copy of the notice.