Kenyan firm offers Ksh.25B in race to acquire Bamburi Cement

Kenyan firm, Savannah Clinker has placed a Ksh25.4 billion stake to acquire listed Bamburi Cement PLC.  The deal came in hot after Tanzania’s Amsons Group put in its bid to take over the firm. 

In an offer published in local dailies, Savannah Clinker says it will offer an additional Ksh1.8 billion to shareholders if the deal goes through.

 Chairman and Managing Director Benson Sande Ndeta says the offer, which outpaces Amsons Group Ksh23.9 billion offers attractive tax benefits to the government of Kenya.

In documents filed with the Capital Markets Authority, (CMA) the firm offers to take up the close to 363 million issued shares of Bamburi PLC at Ksh.70 a piece. This Ksh.5 more than what its now competitor Amsons offered in its July 10^th 2024 notice.

“We shall offer to pay all shareholders immediately after the transaction closes and no later than 28^th February 2025,’’ it says.

Additionally, Ndeta says his firm will seek to retain Bamburi PLC listed at the Nairobi bourse, with up to 40% of its shares available for investors. This he adds in a statement to newsrooms will see SCL maintain existing contractual and statutory employment rights.

The offer by SCL is expected to unsettle the Amsons Group bid that it said it would consider delisting the cement manufacturer from the NSE if it gets more 75% or more acceptance to its offer.

In its notice, Amsons Group indicated that it had already received irrevocable commitment from Bamburi’s majority shareholder, Holcim, which owns a combined 58.6% through subsidiaries Fincem Holding Ltd and Kencem Holding Ltd.

“We will actively engage Holcim and the minority shareholders seeking to win their acceptance,” said Ndeta.

Amsons Group is a Tanzanian family-owned business conglomerate founded in 2006 and with over $1 billion in annual turnover. Its main business is in bulk oil and petroleum importation, but it has interests in cement manufacturing, wheat flour milling, LPG and transportation.

On the other hand, Savannah Clinker Limited was established in 2019 and says its business involves cement solutions provision, mining, manufacturing, processing and packaging. The firm is wholly owned by Ndeta.