LafargeHolcim signs agreement to sell Philippine operations

LafargeHolcim has signed an agreement with San Miguel Corp for the sale of its 85.7 per cent share in Holcim Philippines for an enterprise value of US$2.15bn. The deal is expected to close in the 4Q19 and is subject to regulatory approval, according to a press release.

The proceeds of this transaction will allow the company to improve its debt ratio by approximately 0.3 times. Following the divestment of its operations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, it has exited the southeast Asian market at a total enterprise value of US$4.9bn.

"With the divestment of our activities in the Philippines, we are completing our exit from the increasingly hyper competitive arena in southeast Asia. While this decision is based on our strategic portfolio review, we have reached very attractive valuations allowing us to achieve a new level of financial strength. We will have over performed our target ratio of Net Debt to Recurring EBITDA of 2 times or less by the end of 2019. We have delivered on the promised strengthening of our balance sheet and we are on track to accelerate the execution of our Strategy 2022 – 'Building for Growth'", said Jan Jenisch, CEO.