French insurance giant Axa said Friday it had increased its stake in German cement maker HeidelbergCement to 10.22 percent from 9.28 percent previously. Under German law, companies are obliged to publicly disclose any changes in shareholdings above and below certain thresholds such as five or 10 percent. In a mandatory legal filing published in the German press on Friday, Axa
revealed that its holding in HeidelbergCement had now breached the 10-percent threshold. HeidelbergCement said the French insurer was acting on behalf of an unnamed third party in increasing its stake.
According to information posted on the website of the Frankfurt stock exchange, Axa is now the third-biggest shareholder of HeidelbergCement, behind the German investment company Schwenk Beteiligungen with 22.44 per cent and a German investor Adolf Merckle with 12.8 per cent. German insurer Allianz holds a stake of 7.54 percent.
