PPC’s decision to halt merger talks with AfriSam shifts the focus back to whether it will take on former CEO Ketso Gordhan’s sizeable Algeria deal, and the firm’s ability to contain debt as it completes costly but important deals elsewhere in Africa.
The decision to end talks comes as industry sources say at least one major multinational cement firm is actively considering a takeover of PPC, whose shares had nearly halved in the six months to March 16 following Gordhan’s exit.
Germany-based HeidelbergCement, the world’s third-largest cement firm, has said it is considering investing in SA, as has French giant Lafarge, which is already a large player in SA’s inland and KwaZulu-Natal markets.
A HeidelbergCement executive last week declined to comment on whether PPC had been approached.
