Shareholders approve creation of Lafarge Africa Plc

Shareholders of Lafarge Cement WAPCO Nigeria Plc have approved the creation of Lafarge Africa Plc, the merger of the company’s Nigerian and South African assets. Lafarge will now proceed with transferring shares in its businesses in Nigeria (Ashaka Cement, Unicem and Atlas) and South Africa to Lafarge WAPCO for a cash consideration of US$200 million and the issuance of 1.4 billion Lafarge Africa shares to the Lafarge Group. Guillanume Rouz, who will be Managing Director/CEO of Lafarge Africa Plc, said that the broader geographic coverage will enable Lafarge Africa to serve its customers more widely, and to benefit from the development opportunities in both countries. The new company will have a combined capacity of around 12 million t, across the following operations: Lafarge WAPCO (4.5 million t); Lafarge South Africa Holdings (3.6 million t); United Cement Company of Nigeria (2.5 million t); Ashaka Cement (1 million t); Atlas Cement Company (bagging plant, 0.5 million t).

The company is reportedly considering an IPO to raise additional equity, and will also plan to increase capacity in the region in future.

Edited from various sources by Katherine Guenioui

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/africa-middle-east/10072014/shareholders_approve_creation_of_lafarge_africa_66/