- City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
- Dubai 04:27 05:45 12:20 15:47 18:49 20:07
A worker mixes gravel and cement at a construction site in Dubai. ASEC Cement aims to control more than 12 million tonnes of production capacity per year by 2013. (EB FILE)
ASEC Holding has acquired an additional 9.48 per cent of ASEC Cement in a deal worth $80 million (Dh293.6m) in cash and shares, according to the Citadel Capital, which owns 49.5 per cent of ASEC Holding. It made the announcement in a statement to the Egyptian Exchange in Cairo.
The transaction will see ASEC Holding raise its stake in ASEC Cement to 61.04 per cent and the seller is Emirates International Investment Company (EIIC), a long-time limited partner in a number of Citadel Capital's Opportunity Specific Funds and a shareholder in the firm.
"This transaction values ASEC Cement at EGP14.68 (Dh9.81) per share against a par value of EGP 10, a fair price for both parties that reflects ASEC Cement's outstanding growth potential as it moves steadily towards controlling over 12 million tonnes of production capacity per year by 2013," said Citadel Capital Managing Director and Co-Founder Hisham El Khazindar.
The deal will be partly financed through the issue of ASEC Holding shares to EIIC in the amount of $32.5m via a capital increase at a fair market value of EGP28.50 per share. EIIC will continue to have exposure to ASEC Cement's growth story through its stake in ASEC Holding. In addition to the capital increase, the Emirati firm recently acquired an additional six per cent of ASEC Holding from Citadel Capital. Together with EIIC's original shareholding, the two transactions give the Emirati company a 13.6 per cent stake in ASEC Holding. Top shareholders of ASEC Holding include Citadel Capital, FHI, EIIC and Cape Collard Investments.
Meanwhile, ASEC Cement's production assets are on track to span five countries from Algeria to Iraq-Kurdistan within the coming three years. "Our aim in building out ASEC Cement is to create one of the largest and most efficient independent cement producers in the Middle East and Africa," said El Khazindar.
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