Business Billionaire Narendra Naval’s national Cement company has signed a sh 5 billion deal for the transfer of ARM cement’s assets
Under the Tuesday deal, National Cement will acquire all cement and non-cement assets and business of ARM Cement PLC in Kenya as a going concern (the “Transaction”) for a purchase price consideration of USD 50M (Sh5 billion).
ARM Cement ARM Cement, which is a producer and major supplier of cement in Kenya and Africa in general, was put under administration in August last year by some of its creditors over a Ksh 19.2 billion debt and its shares were suspended from the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
Part of the outstanding debt includes a Sh 4.6 billion convertible debt owed to the African Finance Corporation, Sh 2.5 billion in overdraft facilities owed to Stanbic Bank as well as Sh 824 million owed to Standard Bank Ltd
It had loans with Stanbic Bank Kenya, African Finance Corporation and overdrafts with Barclays, Stanbic, Guaranty Trust and UBA banks. Maweni, its Tanzanian subsidiary, had loans with Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (PTA Bank), and Development Bank of South Africa and overdrafts with Stanbic and Standard Bank (Mauritius).
ARM Cement currently has operations in Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda. The company also has some interests, in the form of unexploited mineral deposits, in South Africa.
The principal activities of the Company and its subsidiaries are the manufacture and distribution of cement, mining, and processing of industrial minerals and chemicals, trading in other building products and the sale of fertilizers.
Its said the transaction, which applies to ARM Cement’s Kenyan assets only, is subject to regulatory approvals.