Athi River Minning Cement (ARM Cement), Kenya’s second cement producer behind Lafarge-Holcim’s subsidiary, Bamburi Cement, announced it received an acquisition offer from a big investor.

Though no further details were given about the transaction, the Kenyan press revealed that the unknown investor was Ultratech, India’s leading cement producer with assets in the Middle East. The group is supposedly ready to offer the $125 million requested by ARM Cement to buy the preferential shares it previously issued. This would allow Ultratech to hold a majority stake in ARM Cement.

For the Kenyan cement producer, the deal is an alternative to the issuing of the 5-year maturity $105 million bond which has been put on hold so far. By issuing its shares, the group will reduce and refinance its huge debt and invest in production in a context where the market rapidly becomes competitive.

Idriss Linge