Argos acquires French Guiana assets

Colombia's largest cement maker, Argos, said on Wednesday it will pay EUR50m to acquire Ciments Guyanias, owned equally by Lafarge and Holcim, just two days after the European majors announced a merger.

The purchase includes a 200,000tpa clinker grinding plant and a port, both located in Degrad des Cannes, close to the capital Cayenne.

Argos said the move forms part of the company’s objective to consolidate it operational and logistical cement network. The deal is also in keeping with Argos' expansion strategy which last year stepped up a gear through the acquisitions of Lafarge assets in Honduras and Vulcan Materials' cement and concrete businesses in Florida.

“This new acquisition in French Guiana nicely complements our current network of assets in the region, especially given its proximity to our grinding facilities in Suriname and our cement terminals in the Antilles,” said Jorge Mario Velasquez, CEO of Argos.

French Guiana, an overseas department of France, has a per capita cement consumption of 433kg per year, “almost twice as much as the Latin American average,” Velasquez noted.

He added that the purchase will be subject to regulatory approval.