Indonesian conglomerate Rajawali Group will buy 24.9 per cent of PT Semen Gresik for US$337m under an agreement signed Monday. As expected, Rajawali is acquiring the stake from Cemex, The Indonesian government owns 51.01 per cent of Gresik, the nation’s largest cement producer.

Said Didu, the secretary of the Ministry for State Enterprises, said the government intends to maintain its majority stake in Semen Gresik. He added that the signing of the deal indicates that Cemex no longer intends to pursue an international arbitration case against the Indonesian government over the ownership of Semen Gresik.  After the sale, Cemex will still own a 0.63 per cent stake in Gresik.

Analysts in Jakarta reacted positively to the news as it should mean Gresik can focus on its core business after the years of dispute over its ownership.

Rajawali Corporation’s managing director and chief of business development, Darjoto Setyawan, expects the deal to be fully completed Wednesday.