Cemex Latam Holdings seek to offer public shares in Colombia

Earlier this week, Cemex announced that Cemex Latam Holdings – a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cemex España – presented an application to list its shares on the Colombian stock exchange and to make a public offering of a minority of its shares to investors in Colombia, and in a concurrent private placement, to eligible investors outside of Colombia as well.

Whilst the application, made to the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (SFC) on Tuesday, does not cover Cemex’s assets in Mexico, it is expected that Cemex Latam’s assets will include all other Cemex assets in Central and South America. The announcement was followed by a rise in Cemex’s shares in its home market and saw its U.S.-listed shares post their strongest performance in a month.

Earlier this year, we reported that the construction sector in Colombia has grown as a result of demand from the oil and mining sectors, which no doubt contributed to Cemex’s Q1 2012 sales figures being up by 30% on the same quarter in 2011. The ongoing strength of construction in the country should potential investors.

The application to the SFC is part of a wider scheme of asset sale alternatives that Cemex is pursuing alongside its initiative to reduce debt and extend its debt maturities. The company’s previously announced asset sale alternatives include the potential sales of: minority stakes in Cemex operations in select countries; selected U.S. assets; selected European assets and/or other non-core assets. However, the ultimate implementation of any such alternatives remains at the company’s discretion.

Edited from various sources by Jack Davidson.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/the-americas/24082012/cemex_latam_colombia_shares_cement/