Lafarge Africa announces merger with UniCem, Atlas
Reporter
The board of leading sub-Saharan Africa building materials company, Lafarge Africa Plc, has approved and authorised the merger of the company with both United Cement Company of Nigeria (Unicem) and Atlas Cement Company Limited.
In a statement signed Friday by the company’s secretary, Edith Onwuchekwa, the board was waiting for the approval of the necessary regulatory bodies on the proposed merger.
According to the statement, the board of directors of Lafarge Africa Plc gave the cement firm leave to undertake a business combination/merger with United Cement Company of Nigeria (Unicem) and Atlas Cement Company Limited.
”The board authorised the firm to enter into any agreement and do all that is necessary to negotiate and implement the merger among UniCem and Atlas.”
Onwuchekwa noted that Lafarge “will seek the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and all other relevant regulatory bodies in furtherance of the implementation of the merger.”
Lafarge Africa, which announced its second quarter 2017 (Q2’ 17) result recently, has its revenue grew by 33.8 percent year-on-year while net profit was N14.57 billion as against a loss of N28.37 billion recorded same period of last year.
In comparison to Q1’17, however, revenue and profit before tax were down 9.6 percent and 7.7 percent respectively.
UniCem, one of the Nigeria’s leading brands in the Eastern region, with an installed capacity of 5 MM, has a track record of quality, consistency and exhibits excellent strength performance at all ages.
Atlas Cement Company Limited, on the other hand, engages in bagging, selling, distribution, and dealing of cement products. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is based in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.