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Holcim and Cemex close their series of transactions in Europe

06 January 2015, Published under Cement News

Holcim and Cemex today announce the successful closure of their series of transactions in Europe. Holcim acquired Cemex’s operations in western Germany and The Netherlands while Cemex took over Holcim Czech Republic with all its subsidiaries in the country. In Spain, Cemex purchased Holcim’s Gador cement plant and Yeles grinding station, while Holcim keeps its remaining operations. As a result of the transactions, Cemex paid Holcim EUR45m in cash. Holcim said it expects sustainable ad...

Cemex to increase capacity of Costa Rica cement works

19 December 2014, Published under Cement News

Cemex Latam Holdings (CLH) is to increase cement capacity of its plant located in Colorado, Costa Rica by approximately 25 per cent, reaching a capacity of 1.1Mta by 2017. The total investment is expected to be approximately US$35m over a three-year period including the construction of a new grinding mill, as well as several capacity enhancing projects on its clinker production line. “With this increased capacity we will strengthen our position in Costa Rica, reiterating our commitment t...

Dangote reverses price cut

18 December 2014, Published under Cement News

Just over a month after initiating a dramatic price cut, Dangote Cement has raised prices again in Nigeria. The price of 42.5 grade cement has reportedly increased from NGN1150 (US$6.10) to NGN1567 (US$8.37, excluding VAT). This translates to a 35 per cent rise and taking the price higher than the level before the November cut. Analysts at Morgan Stanley comment that the original decision to drop prices appears to have been prompted by a build-up of stocks that Dangote was unable to se...

Peru's Gloria Group acquires control of Soboce, Bolivia

18 December 2014, Published under Cement News

Peruvian conglomerate Gloria Group has acquired an outstanding 51.35 per cent stake in Bolivia's largest cement producer Sociedad Boliviana de Cemento (Soboce) for US$300m. Gloria previously held a 47 per cent stake in Soboce, once the flagship of magnate and former presidential candidate Doria Medina, with US$280mn in annual sales. Mr Medina, who lost to President Evo Morales in the October presidential elections, opposed Mr Morales' move to nationalise Soboce's 30 per cent stake in cemen...

EU clears Lafarge and Holcim merger, subject to asset disposals

16 December 2014, Published under Cement News

Lafarge and Holcim have received clearance from the European Commission (EC) for their proposed tie-up, marking a key milestone in the merger process. The decision is conditional upon the divestment of select Lafarge and Holcim operations in Europe which were largely in line with previous company guidance with the exception of a slight change in France. "We are very pleased with the positive decision of the European Commission. It also reflects the quality of the preparatory work perform...

Guyana’s first integrated plant officially opened

16 December 2014, Published under Cement News

Caricom Cement Company Inc has officially opened the first cement plant in Guyana in the presence of Prime Minister Samuel Hinds. The plant, situated in Everton, East Bank Berbice, has a capacity of 0.5Mta and is located in the same compound as Caricom Cement’s bagging facility. Also in attendance during the opening ceremony, which took place on 13 December 2014, were Irfaan Ali, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce; David Armogan, chairman of Region Six; Roshan Habbibullah, CEO of ...

LSR to sell Slantsy cement plant to Eurocement

15 December 2014, Published under Cement News

LSR Group is selling its Slantsy plant in the Leningrad region of Russia to the country’s leading cement producer, Eurocement Group. The parties have signed preliminary sales agreement with Eurocement having obtained approval from Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation (FAS). Control of plant operations is expected to be transferred later this month. LSR said in a statement on Friday that the deal is part of its strategy to “focus on projects with highest returns on inves...

Indonesian: expected sales rebound ahead

11 December 2014, Published under Cement News

Indonesian cement demand growth is expected to slow in 2014 but sales are anticipated to rebound next year as new projects get underway. For full-year 2014 the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI) expects sales to rise by four per cent, down from the 5.8 per cent achieved last year. The slowdown has been attributed to regional and national elections delaying infrastructure projects, high interest rates and weakening purchasing power. Forecasts for Indonesian cement sales in 2015 are mor...

UltraTech re-evaluating Brazil asset bid

11 December 2014, Published under Cement News

Indian cement major UltraTech Cement is reportedly re-evaluating its decision to bid for the Brazilian assets put on the block by Holcim and Lafarge ahead of their planned merger. According to local press reports, the Aditya Birla company had submitted non-binding bids for the cement assets in October, after which binding bids are due in January. The company is now said to be “rethinking about the bids” and UltraTech Cement may “pull back at the binding stage,” sources familiar with the m...

ARM secures loan to finance expansion

10 December 2014, Published under Cement News

ARM Cement has secured a KES4.5bn (US$50m) loan from CFC Stanbic Bank to finance its expansion plans. “The credit adds to our existing facilities and will be used in current and new projects,” said ARM’s chief executive Pradeep Paunrana told Business Daily in an interview on Tuesday. ARM Cement opened its new 1.2Mta clinker plant in Maweni, Tanga, in November 2014, involving an investment of US$150m. It expects to complete a grinding plant in the same location next year. ARM will als...