Cementos Argos merger sealed at last

The merger of seven Grupo Empresarial Antioqueño (GEA) cement firms into Cementos Argos, formerly called Cementos del Caribe, has finally taken place in Barranquilla on Colombia’s northern coast, local press reported.

Cementos Caribe has absorbed Cementos El Cairo, Cementos del Nare, Cementos del Valle, Cementos Rioclaro, Tolcemento, Colclinker and Cementos Paz del Río and the company’s headquarters will now be in Barranquilla.

This is the beginning of a process of consolidation and growth for Cementos Argos, controlled in turn by Inversiones Argos, which holds 70 per cent of the stock in the new company. In fact it may even end up being quoted on the New York Stock Exchange.

At present, the plans are for the shares in both Cementos Argos and Inversiones Argos to be traded on the Bogotá stock exchange starting Monday (Jan 2). Cementos Argos will have around 230 million shares in circulation and the price is estimated to be 26,540 pesos.

The new company has assets worth 7.3tn pesos (US$3.19bn), debts totaling 1.2tn pesos and equity of 6.1bn pesos, according to figures drawn up at end-November. The firm has investments in Colombia, the US, Panama, Venezuela, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Cementos Argos is also the fifth largest cement producer in Latin America, with annual production capacity of 10.5Mt of cement and 5.6Mt of concrete.