Aliko Dangote Ups Bidding War for PPC With Cash, Share Offer

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Dangote Cement Plc, the Nigerian company controlled by Africa’s richest person, has written to PPC Ltd. offering South Africa’s biggest cement maker cash and shares as part of a takeover deal that is fuelling a bidding war.

“We are waiting for them to get back to us, hopefully early next week,” Aliko Dangote said in an interview with Bloomberg TV in New York. “They can be part and parcel of the Dangote Cement story, where we’re going to be in 18 African countries.”

The approach by Lagos-based Dangote follows a joint offer from Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. and PPC’s domestic rival AfriSam Group Pty Ltd. While PPC has said it will consider all bids, the Public Investment Corp., its largest shareholder, supports a tie up with AfriSam and Fairfax, people familiar with the matter said last week. LafargeHolcim Ltd., the world’s biggest cement maker, is also monitoring PPC’s situation, the people said.

Two banks have agreed to support Dangote’s offer, the chairman said, without identifying the lenders. “They’ll be able to fund us 100 percent.”

PPC rose 2.9 percent to 6.40 rand as of 12:28 p.m. in Johannesburg on Thursday, valuing the company at 10.2 billion rand ($764 million). The stock has gained 16 percent this year. Dangote Cement, which has advanced 23 percent in 2017, was unchanged in Lagos trading for a market value of 3.6 trillion naira ($10 billion).

“The market in South Africa needs consolidation,” Dangote said. “It’s the right thing for us to go in there and consolidate. The issue is that they are making a bit of a mistake. They are focusing on the highest bidder. They are focusing more on value rather than, ‘What does it have for us going forward?”’

Source: Bloomberg Business News