Republic Cement to delist shares

MANILA, Philippines – Republic Cement & Building Materials Inc. (RCBM) has applied for delisting of its shares from the Philippine Stock Exchange effective March 15.

The move follows the acquisition by AEV CRH Holdings of RCBM.  

Last August, AEV CRH conducted a tender offer for 649. 08 million common shares held by RCBM’s minority shareholders at P10.26 each.

As of Sept. 15, 2015, RCBM’s publicly owned common shares comprise approximately 0.91 percent of its outstanding capital stock.

According to the PSE, a company that fails to comply with the 10 percent minimum public ownership requirement may apply for voluntary delisting.

AEV CRH is a joint venture between Aboitiz Equity Ventures and Ireland-headquartered CRH International, which acquired Lafarge Republic Inc. for P24 billion.

 Swiss-company Holcim Ltd. and Lafarge S.A., a French company, have merged and have launched a $43.2 billion combined building materials company.

 The merger of global companies Lafarge and Holcim provided the opportunity for AEV and CRH to acquire the cement assets of Lafarge as the two global companies had to dispose off their assets to win regulatory approval for the merger.

 Lafarge Philippines has a nationwide manufacturing network of four cement plants in Norzagaray, Bulacan; Teresa, Rizal and Taysan, Batangas.  It has a grinding station in Cebu, a cement plant in Iligan City, and an aggregates quarry in Angono, Rizal.

CRH, which has operations in 34 countries, is a manufacturer, supplier, and distributor of building materials with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland.  Its shares are listed on the London and Dublin stock exchanges, and its American Depositary Shares are listed in the New York Stock Exchange.

AEV’s entry into the lucrative cement business is seen to complement the conglomerate’s big-ticket infrastructure ventures and enable it to diversify its business currently consisting of power generation, real estate, banking and agribusiness.