- Lafarge Africa Concludes Share Swap with AshakaCem
The Board of AshakaCem on Monday approved the exchange of shares held by its minority shareholders for shares in Lafarge Africa, the majority shareholder.
AshakaCem’s board gave the approval at an Extraordinary General Meeting held in Abuja.
Based on the approval, minority shareholders will receive 57 Lafarge Africa shares for every 202 AshakaCem shares.
This makes AshakaCem a fully owned subsidiary of Lafarge Africa and offers its shareholders the window to liquidate their investments following the delisting of the Gombe-based cement maker from the trading floor of the Nigeria Stock Exchange in July 2017.
The Chief Financial Officer; Lafarge Africa, Bruno Bayet, said, “The minority shareholders of Ashaka now have the opportunity to be part of Lafarge Africa with total installed production capacity of over 14 million metric tonnes per annum and strong growth prospects.”
He noted that for the nine-month period ended in September 2017, Lafarge Africa reported a four-fold increase in operating margins, adding that its net sales increased by 39 per cent to N223.7bn.
In her remarks, the Chairman, AshakaCem, Edith Onwuchekwa, told participants at the EGM that “the erection of a 16 megawatts coal, fired captive power plant at Ashaka is nearing completion and will significantly ensure the stability of electric power to the plant and the optimisation of our energy costs at the plant.”
The Chief Executive Officer, Lafarge Africa, Michel Puchercos, said, “We remain committed to Ashaka in good times and in bad times because we have a long-term view of our investments.
“Ashaka cement as a brand has for decades become synonymous with housing and infrastructural solutions in the entire north.” We shall maintain that legacy of quality even in the face of temporary setbacks.”
He also stated that although AshakaCem is currently a 100 per cent subsidiary of Lafarge Africa, the firm will have its own board of directors.
Puchercos further noted that the sale of cement products under the widely known AshakaCem brand would continue in the north.
