ARM Cement to relinquish Tanzania assets

ARM Cement will include KES854.6m (US$8.45m) of additional assets in Tanzania to sweeten the deal for buyers of the company’s non-cement business, according to The Citizen.

The company reached an agreement to sell its fertiliser and mineral production businesses in Kenya to Swiss firm Omya and Pinner Heights Ltd (PHL), a company owned by its CEO, Pradeed Paunrana, for KES1.6bn. Its latest annual report ARM said that the buyers could also acquire its non-cement operations in Tanzania for free in what is seen as an effort to close the deal, which was still pending as of May.

“Further, the sale agreement grants the purchasers an option to acquire ARM’s non-cement business assets in Tanzania at no further financial consideration,” the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm said in the report. “The assets deemed as impaired were previously used exclusively in the production process for the non-cement products, but were not part of the assets to be acquired by the prospective buyer. The assets were therefore deemed as having scrap value and the resulting impairment loss booked.”