HeidelbergCement strengthens finances for Italcementi deal

HeidelbergCement has strengthened its financing to prepare itself for the acquisition of Italcementi. On 31 August, the cement producer completed the disposal of its lime business in Germany to the Belgian Lhoist Group. Both companies agreed not to disclose any details about the transaction.

In addition, HeidelbergCement successfully syndicated the bridge financing for the acquisition of Italcementi. All core banks of HeidelbergCement participated in equal shares in the syndication of the credit line originally provided by Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley. At the same time, the financing volume could be reduced by EUR600m from EUR4.4bn to EUR3.8bn, because the initial risk of a mandatory offer to minority shareholders in Morocco could be excluded.

“The disposal of the lime business in Germany and the syndication of the bridge loan with a reduced volume are further important steps on our way to strengthen our financing,” said Dr Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement. “With the syndication of the bridge loan, we have laid a solid funding base for the acquisition of Italcementi. The fact that all our core banks participated in the syndication is a clear proof of the high reputation of HeidelbergCement in the banking sector and the strength of our relationships with the banks and clearly reflects that the banks are convinced of the transaction.”

HeidelbergCement used to operate two lime plants in Germany – Walhalla Kalkwerk in Regensburg and Kalkwerk Istein close to Basel. Both lime plants were modernised in the past years with state-of-the-art kiln technology and generated a turnover of about EUR45m in 2014 with approximately 180 employees.