Turkish conglomerate Sabanci Holding plans to bid for some of the assets cement makers Lafarge and Holcim must sell to steer their mega-merger past competition watchdogs, a source told Reuters.
Istanbul-based Sabanci, a conglomerate with interests ranging from cement to banking and energy, is aiming for growth through acquisitions and said in March that it plans to spend 1-billion to 1.5-billion lira ($448-672 million) on such investments.
“Preparations are being made for a bid in December,” the source said, adding that Sabanci is interested mainly in European businesses that Lafarge and Holcim plan to sell.
Sabanci, which owns cement companies Akcansa and Cimsa, declined to comment.
Irish cement maker CRH is considering bidding for the entire portfolio of assets to be sold by Lafarge and Holcim, two sources told Reuters last week.
Four consortia of private equity firms are also eyeing the portfolio, with bids valuing the assets at 5-billion to 7-billion euros ($6.4-billion to $9-billion) expected soon.
The Lafarge–Holcim merger, unveiled in April, would create the world’s top cement group with $44-billion in yearly sales and would be the industry’s biggest ever tie-up.
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/turkeys-sabanci-to-bid-for-lafarge-holcim-assets–source-2014-09-23
