Board of South Africa's PPC rejects Fairfax offer, AfriSam merger (updated)

Helios Fairfax Partners

22/11/2017 13:19

* PPC board says Fairfax offer not fair and reasonable 
    * Talks with CRH and LafargeHolcim continue 
    * PPC shares up more than 2 pct 
 
 (Adds details, share price, background) 
    By Nqobile Dludla 
    JOHANNESBURG, Nov 22 (Reuters) - South African cement 
producer PPC's  PPCJ.J  board on Wednesday turned its back on a 
takeover attempt by AfriSam, backed by Canadian firm Fairfax 
Africa Investments, but PCC said it was still talking to 
Ireland's CRH and Swiss group LafargeHolcim. 
    PPC has been a takeover target on-and-off for several years, 
with local-based AfriSam  AFRSMV.UL , Nigeria's Dangote Cement 
 DANGCEM.LG  Irish building materials firm CRH  CRH.I  and 
Switzerland's LafargeHolcim  LHN.S  all interested in it. 
    But in a move anticipated by analysts, PPC's independent 
board said it had advised Fairfax that it will not be 
recommending the Canadian company's partial offer to 
shareholders and that it will not convene a general meeting to 
approve the proposed merger by AfriSam. 
    "The Independent Expert ... is of the opinion that the 
partial offer, both in the context of the proposed merger as 
well as on a stand-alone basis, is not fair and reasonable," PPC 
said in a statement. 
    Fairfax  FAHu.TO  offered to buy 22 percent of PPC in 
September for 5.75 rand per share, or 2 billion rand ($144 
million), on condition that it was approved by shareholders in 
order to allow AfriSam's merger plan. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1LL2M7  
    PPC, which has operations in six countries across Africa, 
said the board took into account the cement producer's own 
valuation work, forecasts and recent financial and business 
performance as well as feedback from shareholders. 
    Shares in PPC, which has a market capitalisation of 10.29 
billion rand and had net debt of 4.7 billion rand at the end of 
March, were up 2.47 percent to 6.63 rand by 1248 GMT.  
    It said it will continue its engagements with CRH and 
LafargeHolcim.  
($1 = 13.9172 rand) 
 
 (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Mark Potter and 
Alexander Smith) 
 ((nqobile.dludla@thomsonreuters.com; +27117753126; Reuters 
Messaging: nqobile.dludla.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: PPC M&A/AFRISAM FAIRFAX AFRICA