InterCement plans asset swap with Votorantim

InterCement, the cement unit of Brazilian industrial conglomerate Grupo Camargo Correa, on Sunday provided further details regarding its bid to acquire Cimpor.

Camargo Correa said it hasn't changed its March 30 offer of EUR5.5 per Cimpor share, and said that payment would be made immediately after the offer closes, in cash, according to a report by Dow Jones News Service.

The company stressed that Cimpor would remain a Portuguese company, and retain the same brand, and that it would be strengthened by having a stable ownership structure.

Camargo Correa plans to unify all of its cement operations under Cimpor, giving the Portuguese company more international clout, with InterCement's assets in South America - and Brazil in particular -and boosting Cimpor's own presence in Africa, according to the statement.

Camargo Correa said that Cimpor's ownership structure is fragmented and "without strategic coherence."

The group said that it plans to offer an exchange of assets to buy out Brazilian cement group Votorantim Cimentos, which owns 21.2% of Cimpor.

InterCement would first transfer to Cimpor all of its assets in South America and Angola, in exchange for most of Cimpor's assets in China, Spain, India, Morrocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Peru. InterCement would then offer those international assets to Votorantim, in exchange for its shares in Cimpor, the statement said.

Camargo Correa said it has discussed the matter with Votorantim, and that there's a "very strong possibility" that Votorantim would accept, according to Dow Jones.

Camargo Correa is already Cimpor's largest single shareholder, with a 32.9% stake, followed by Votorantim. Camargo Correa and Votorantim purchased their 53% stake in Cimpor in 2010.