COMESA clears Tanzanian firm to acquire Bamburi Cement

 

AMSONS Group has been granted unconditional approval by COMESA Competition Commission to acquire Kenya’s Bamburi Cement Plc.

According to the commission, the proposal by the Tanzanian conglomerate to acquire 100pc stake in the Kenyan cement manufacturer would not hinder competition within the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and will instead improve competition within the trade bloc.

“It is unlikely that the proposed merger will lead to the creation of a dominant position that would enable the parties to engage in unilateral conduct in the market,” said the commission.

AMSONS Group through its Kenyan unit, AMSONS Industries Kenya Limited offered to acquire all of Bamburi Cement’s 362,959,275 shares in a deal said to be valued at Ksh 24 billion.

Disclosures by Bamburi Cement indicate that Fincem Holding Limited and KenCem Holding Limited which are both owned by LafargeHolcim, are the two largest shareholders out of 4,559 shareholders of the cement manufacturer with each firm having 29.3pc stake. As a result LafargeHolcim is the largest shareholder with a controlling stake of 58.6pc.

Standard Chartered Nominees RESD A/C KE11396 and Aksaya Investment Holdings Limited hold 15.68pc and 5.72pc stake respectively.

LafargeHolcim shareholders already gave the transaction the go ahead in July this year.
AMSON Group Chief Executive Officer Edha Nahdi expects the transaction to help its Kenyan expansion plans and enhance trade in the region.

“The approval is a significant boost to our offer as we continue to engage investors of Bamburi Cement and remain confident that our acquisition bid will be successful as it presents a win-win scenario for the investors and our two countries,” he said.

AMSON Group appointed KCB Investment Bank as its transaction adviser.

The group currently has a manufacturing capacity of 6,000 metric tonnes of cement per day including through the recently acquired Mbeya Cement facility.

The family-owned business was founded in 2006 in Tanzania with primary focus on bulk oil and petroleum products importation under the Camel Oil Tanzania retail brand.

By Ronald Owili