Group Brussel Lambert said Tuesday it was ready to increase its stake in Lafarge to 20-30 per cent over time, a day after the French company announced a deal to buy Egypt’s Orascom Cement.

GBL currently holds 17.4 per cent of Lafarge and "over time could increase this to between 20 and 30 per cent," said Paul Desmarais, a Canadian who runs GBL with Albert Frere of Belgium.

"The acquisition of a leading Egyptian group is a decisive opportunity to accelerate our profitable growth strategy in cement in emerging markets," Lafarge chairman and chief executive Bruno Lafont said in a statement Monday.
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