DANGOTE BIDS TO ACQUIRE SOUTH AFRICA'S LARGEST CEMENT MAKER

Nigerian Business Tycoon, Aliko Dangote.

According to Bloomberg, Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote is among those considering counteroffers for South Africa’s largest cement maker PPC Group Ltd.

Dangote Cement Plc sees a bid for the Johannesburg-based company as a way to accelerate expansion outside its home market of Nigeria, said the people, who asked not to be named as the matter is private.

PPC will consider any rival offers to the joint approach by Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. and domestic rival AfriSam Group Pty Ltd. and present them to shareholders in early October, one of the people said.

LafargeHolcim Ltd., the world’s biggest cement maker based in Jona, Switzerland, and Germany’s HeidelbergCement AG are also monitoring PPC’s situation, the people said. Titan Cement Co. SA of Greece is also looking at the South African company, according to one of the people. The cement makers’ interest was sparked after Toronto-based Fairfax offered to buy 2 billion rand of PPC’s shares and support a merger with AfriSam earlier this week, the people said. The proposal “significantly undervalued” the business, PPC said at the time.

Dangote would be open to a sale of all or part of its cement operations in Pretoria-based Sephaku Holdings Ltd. unit to win regulatory approval for a takeover, two of the people said.

Bloomberg