Tanzania's Amsons Group launches Sh23.1b bid to acquire Bamburi cement

Business
By Brian Ngugi | Jul 11, 2024
Bamburi Cement trucks collect cement from a Silo storage facility in Industrial Area, Nairobi. [Stafford Ondego, Standard]

Tanzania's leading manufacturing and energy giant, Amsons Group, has issued a binding offer to acquire up to a 100 per cent stake in Kenya's Bamburi Cement PLC for a total sum of Sh23.1 billion.

Amsons, through its Kenyan subsidiary Amsons Industries (K) Ltd, has issued a notice of intention to launch a public takeover offer to acquire up to 100 per cent of Bamburi's shares at 65 Kenyan shillings per share.

"We have great plans to deepen our investment in Kenya and in Bamburi," said Amsons Group Managing Director Edha Nahdi in a statement issued on Wednesday evening.

"The proposed cross-border acquisition will further strengthen our position in the East African cement sector as part of our regional economic development and market integration strategy."

Amsons, a family-owned business founded in 2006, has diversified from its roots in bulk oil and petroleum products to become a manufacturing and energy conglomerate with over $1 billion in annual revenue. Its cement operations include a 6,000 metric tonnes/day facility and the recently acquired Mbeya Cement in Tanzania.

The acquisition of Bamburi would mark Amsons' formal entry into the Kenyan market, where the group plans to make further investments in the coming months, according to Nahdi.

Holcim, which currently owns a 65 per cent stake in Bamburi, said the deal "advances Holcim's strategy of extending our leadership in our core markets as the global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions."

"With Amsons Group, we are pleased to have found a strategic and trusted partner best positioned to develop Bamburi Cement PLC's business in the long term," said Holcim's Regional Head of Asia, Middle East and Africa, Martin Kriegner in the statement.

The proposed $180 million acquisition would mark a significant milestone for Amsons as it seeks to invest in one of Kenya's iconic blue-chip companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

Share this story
Jitume Digital Hub transforms youths livelihoods in Bungoma
Digital literacy experts believe more young people can embrace and access digital literacy and online work opportunities through the established Jitume Digital Hubs in many parts of the country.
New incubation platform offers guaranteed funding for African ideas
African entrepreneurs with only an idea may soon access guaranteed funding, opening doors for innovators long locked out of capital markets that traditionally demanded proof of concept first.
Kenya bets Sh598bn on Galana Kulalu revival to end food imports
Kenya is staking Sh598 billion on a 10-year irrigation overhaul anchored on the revival of the Galana Kulalu Food Security Project, a scheme long written off as a costly failure.
How young graduate turned maggot farming into a lucrative venture
The communications graduate has built a maggot farming venture that feeds fish, trains farmers, supplies feed across multiple counties.
Embrace data for sustainable growth, policymakers urged
Improved data collection has strengthened support programmes for persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
.
RECOMMENDED NEWS