National Cement's acquisition of ARM blocked

The acquisition of ARM Cement for US$50m by National Cement has hit a legal block. ARM's former CEO and leading shareholder, Pradeep Paunrana, has challenged the sale in the High Court, saying that ARM Cement has been undervalued and that his consortium had offered a bid of US$65m for ARM Cement.

The administrator of the sale, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), claims that the US$65m bid was turned down becasue it was not accompanied by proof of funds among other reasons. Instead, PwC approved the sale of ARM Cement to National Cement for US$50m. PwC also claims that Pradeep Paunrana's bid was received a month after the deadline had passed.

The High Court is scheduled to rule on the matter on Thursday, reported Forbes.