Under the public tender offer made to minority shareholders of Mexican Group company Holcim Apasco, a total of 57,931,967 shares held by third-party shareholders had been tendered to Holcim Ltd by the close of the tender period on March 12, 2004. Holcim is delighted that the offer has met with such wide acceptance. In accordance with the terms of the offer, Holcim will pay US$10.20 per share. This corresponds to a total purchase price of US$590.9m. Holcim’s interest in the Mexican Group company has been increased from 68.9 per cent to 93.4 per cent. Holcim plans to initiate the necessary steps to have the Holcim Apasco shares delisted from the Mexican Stock Exchange.
Holcim intends to use the raised capital to underpin the major Mexican transaction and the financial investments made since the previous capital increase in June 2001, which together total some CHF 3 billion. This will enable Holcim to reinforce its financial profile and set the basis for further growth.
Holcim Apasco,is a leading Mexican supplier of cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates. The company serves the entire Mexican market and operates six cement plants with an annual capacity of just over 10Mt. Holcim Apasco also has 80 ready-mix concrete facilities and three quarry operations for aggregates as well as shareholdings in other cement producers in Central America. Holcim Apasco reported a profit of US$210m in 2003 on net sales of US$960m
