TPI likely to auction cement unit stake next week

TPI likely to auction cement unit stake next week
09 June 2005


Thai Petrochemical Industry is expected to sell its 30 per cent stake in Thailand cement maker TPI Polene by auction next week in a bid to raise US$250m, a member of TPI’s debt administration said on Thursday.

The stake sale is part of a US$2.7bn debt restructuring plan of TPI, the country’s largest corporate defaulter.

"The auction of TPIP shares will probably be next week," Siri Jirapongphan, a member of the government-appointed management team, told Reuters.

A financial adviser to handle the sale would be selected in one or two days, Siri said without elaborating.

On Tuesday, a management team source said the offer price for the 249m shares should not be lower than 40 baht (US$0.99) each and the proceeds would be used to repay TPI debt.

TPI Polene, Thailand’s number three cement maker, has been a target of global cement makers.

First it negotiated selling a majority stake to Mexico’s CEMEX , then did a deal with rival Siam City Cement , which is 32 per cent owned by Switzerland’s Holcim . But the deals were cancelled later.

Published under Cement News