Eight Colombian cement companies will merge to create a business worth US$2.28bn, local press reported. Cementos del Caribe will absorb seven other companies: Cementos del Valle, Cementos Paz del Rí, Cementos Rioclaro, Colclíker, Tolcemento, Cementos El Cairo and Cementos del Nare. All eight are associated with Colombia’s largest cement producer Cemento Argos.
The move is designed to create a larger company with assets to compete more effectively against multinational firms such as Mexico’s Cemex according to local newspaper El Tiempo.
When the consolidation is completed, Cementos del Caribe will have an installed capacity to produce 7.5Mta of cement, half of which will be exported. In addition, the company will have a 50 per cent market share in Colombia and employ some 5000 workers. Overseas holdings also include companies in Panama, Venezuela, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
