Cemented merger not yet concrete

THE ASSESSMENT and discussions about a proposed merger between listed cement and lime producer PPC and AfriSam, two of South Africa’s biggest cement producers, were still in progress. PPC confirmed this yesterday in a further cautionary announcement. It follows PPC in February this year issuing a cautionary announcement in which it disclosed the two companies had entered into a heads of terms agreement to assess the merits of a potential merger between the two companies and to enter into formal discussion about such a merger. AfriSam, which was previously known as Holcim South Africa and was taken over by the Government Employees Pension Fund in December 2011, made a conditional, non-binding proposal to PPC in December 2014 about a merger, but PPC rejected that proposal a few months later. Shares in PPC dropped 0.6 percent on the JSE yesterday to close at R6.66. – Roy Cokayne