Kenya’s National Cement Company Limited (NCCL) has acquired 99 percent of Rwanda’s Cimerwa Plc in a $84.3 million (Ksh.13.6 billion) deal.
The NCCL, which is part of the Devki Group conglomerate chaired by Narendra Naval entered into purchase share agreements with PPC International Holdings Proprietary Limited (PPCIH) and local minority shareholders of Cimerwa.
NCC paid $0.12 (Ksh.19.4) for each of the 702.7 million shares of Cimerwa which is listed on the Rwanda Stock Exchange.
“On January 25, 2024, I led NCCL under Devki Group in formalizing the acquisition of Cimerwa. We will be heavily investing in the business and transforming Rwanda to a self-sustaining country in terms of all cement related products,” said Naval.
The Rwanda based company is set to be delisted after the complete buyout.
PPCIH owns 51 percent of Cimerwa’s shares while the other remaining 49 percent is distributed among minority shareholders including the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB), Agaciro Development Fund, Rwanda Investment Group and SONARWA General Insurance Company Holdings Limited.
Cimerwa & PPC CEO
Cimerwa Chairman Regis Rugemanshuro welcomed the purchase stating that it will allow the company grow and expand its cement operations in East Africa.
“We look forward to welcoming National Cement as our new shareholder. We are confident that they have the financial and technical resources required to support Cimerwa’s growth and expansion in line with our vision and their ambitions in the region,” said Rugemanshuro.
Cimerwa is Rwanda’s largest cement company with an annual production capacity of 600,000 metric tonnes.
“We would like to thank our current shareholders for their support over the years and reiterate our commitment to building on the success we have achieved to date and to enhancing our positive impact in the region,” added Rugemanshuro.
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PPC CEO Roland van Wijnen, which owns PPCIH, said the buyout marks the final step in PPC’s execution of its revised strategy to focus on core Southern African markets and exit its Central and East African assets.
“It has been a long and fruitful relationship with Cimerwa and on behalf of the board of PPC Ltd, I would like to thank Cimerwa’s leadership for their support over the years and wish them all the best for the next chapter,” he said.
The Company had previously revealed that Rwanda has a demand of about 700,00 tonnes per annum against a domestic supply of 420,000 tonnes per annum leaving a supply gap of about 280,000 tonnes per annum.
Demand for cement is Rwanda is projected to keep increasing with the growth in population and urbanization.
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About National Cement Company
NCCL Limited was the third major diversification and growth initiative of Devki Group.
It commenced production and supply of cement in 2010 under the brand name of Simba Cement, all from a single grinding mill with limited capacity at economic cost.
Sensing the growing demand for Simba Cement, NCCL expanded the grinding capacity by 5 times in 2013.
With the expansion of grinding capacity, it was able achieve over 20% share of the local market and also begin to export to neighboring countries in the East Africa region.
