CSN looks to buy InterCement's Loma Negra

InterCement Participações, the indirect controlling shareholder of the cement producer Loma Negra in Argentina, agreed to a new exclusivity period in favour of Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) to continue negotiating the acquisition of 100 per cent of its shareholding.

 The company previously had another exclusivity period, expired as of 12 August, after two extensions. There was no renewal and negotiations were left open to the possibility of an interested third party. However, Loma Negra informed the Argentine Securities and Exchange Commission today that InterCement agreed “to a new extension of the agreement that provides the exclusivity right with Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) in relation to a possible acquisition of shares representing 100 percent of its capital stock, with a term until 16 October 2024.”

The owner of Loma Negra has also since been able to renegotiate its debt with creditor banks. The extension of the deadline to negotiate exclusively with CSN was signed just 24 hours after InterCement, together with other companies of the group, submitted for approval of an out-of-court recovery plan in Brazil, with the approval of creditors representing more than one third of its indebtedness, in accordance with Brazilian law.

The “Extrajudicial Recovery Plan” is being carried out in the competitive process organised by Banco BTG Pactual. The plan involves another stage of InterCement’s already stated capital structure readjustment strategy, which aims to implement a restructuring of its indebtedness preserve business and seek a solution maximising value with its creditors and stakeholders, according to the company. 

The communication added, “The occurrence of the Pan depends on the verification of certain conditions and events, including the execution of a contract for the purchase and sale of InterCement’s equity interests, assets and operations to a third party investor, a transaction that is still under negotiation.” The validity of such a new exclusivity period seems to close the doors for other interested parties for the purchasing of all or part of InterCement’s assets to submit their proposals. Among the interested parties is Argentine businessman Marcelo Mindlin, who intends to keep only the Olavarría cement plant. Mr Mindlin, owner of Sacde construction, wants to keep the former company of the Fortabat family to vertically integrate all the operations of his company. 

CSN, the main candidate to take over InterCement, is also the second-largest cement group in Brazil with 21 per cent of the market, behind market leader Votorantim Cimentos  with a 35 per cent share. InterCement is the third, with 14 per cent of this market.

Among the interested companies are Buzzi Unicom, the Polimax group, the owner of Cement Mizu and two Chinese companies (one Sonoma and Huaxin Cement).