Buzzi Unicem SpA said it is acquiring a 35 per cent stake in Algeria cement company Hadjar Soud for EUR58m and a similar stake in Sur El Ghoziane for EUR52m.

The Italian company said it is acquiring the stakes after winning the privatisation contest organised by the Algerian state, adding that the acquisitions are subject to agreements on governance for the firms.

’Buzzi Unicem will have responsibility for managing the two production units in addition to having representatives in the governing bodies of the companies,’ it said in a statement.

’The combined production capacity is more than 2Mta with a good profitability and an EBITDA margin of more than 30 per cent of sales,’ it said.

Buzzi Unicem will finance the deals via its own resources and by taking on debt, it said.

Hadjar Soud is based in the east of Algeria, near the city of Annaba, while Sur El Ghozian is 130km south of Algiers.