Aliko Dangote is considering counter offers for the PPC Group and as such could spark a bidding contest for South Africa’s largest cement producer, reported The Star who quoted people close to the subject.

Dangote Cement sees the bid as a way to accelerate its pan-African expansion, but the company is only one of several companies keeping a close eye on the bidding. PPC has already received one rival offer to the AfriSam Group bid from Canada-based Fairfax Financial Holdings and both bids will be presented to the shareholders in early October.

In addition LafargeHolcim and HeidelbergCement are also monitoring the PPC bidding and Titan is reportedly looking at the South African company, although spokespeople for the cement producers declined to comment.

The future ownership of PPC is open to question as merger talks with AfriSam were unsuccessful for a second time after some 2.5 years of intermittent negotiations. Both companies have been faced with high debt levels, which Fairfax offered to resolve by recapitalising AfriSam, enabling it to settle outstanding loans, as well as buying ZAR2bn worth of PPC shares. The Fairfax proposal would give the Toronto-based company a stake of more than 30 per cent in the combined entity.