HeidelbergCement Shares drop on Merckle rescue talks

HeidelbergCement Shares drop on Merckle rescue talks
04 December 2008


HeidelbergCement AG, Germany’s biggest cement maker controlled by the billionaire Merckle family, plunged in Frankfurt trading as the majority owner struggled to find an agreement with lenders to repay his debt.

HeidelbergCement slid 12 percent to 32.25 euros. The Merckles are seeking to renew a so-called standstill agreement with more than 30 banks preventing them from making claims until bridge loans have been arranged, the family’s VEM Vermoegensverwaltung GmbH investment unit said today.

“We still believe that we can find a solution,” VEM director Ludwig Merckle said in the statement. “We are hereby dependent on the cooperation of the banks.”

   
Published under Cement News