Negotiation between Brazilian groups InterCement Participações and National Steel Company (CSN) for the sale of the assets that the first of those mentioned owns in Brazil and Argentina, still takes more time to resolve.
InterCement is the indirect controlling shareholder of Black Hill in Argentina. For this reason, the cement company informed the National Securities Commission yesterday that the parties They agreed to extend for another month the exclusivity period to agree on the details of the operation. That is, the period that expired on November 16 It was extended until December 16.
This was reported by Loma Negra in the statement it sent to the CNV: “Our indirect controlling shareholder, InterCement Participações (“InterCement”), informed the market in general, in the context of the competitive process organized by Banco BTG Pactual y de la Revolución Extrajudicial proceedings initiated by InterCement and other group companies, which InterCement and its controlling shareholder Mover Participações SA signed an addendum to the agreement published on September 18, 2024, providing that the right of exclusivity with Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) in relation to a possible acquisition of shares representing 100% of its share capital is extended until December 16, 2024”.
This is the fourth extension of the exclusivity period in favor of CSN that was established since this negotiation began in July of this year.
In the communication, Loma Negra also clarified – as was done in previous reports – that the addendum to the agreement reflects the automatic extension of the deadline for the conclusion of the sale process provided for in the Extrajudicial Recovery Plan.
“Notwithstanding which, InterCement communicated that there is no signed document any that generates an obligation or commitment on its part, or its shareholder Mover Participações SA and/or its subsidiaries in relation to the potential transaction,” he added.
He also confirmed that “as informed on September 16, 2024, it is important to highlight that, Loma Negra is not part of the Extrajudicial Recovery Plan”.
InterCement is also negotiating with creditors to restructure its debt
The aforementioned “Extrajudicial Recovery Plan” of InterCement is carried out in the context of the competitive process organized by Banco BTG Pactual of Brazil. It implies one more stage of the already communicated strategy to readjust the capital structure of InterCement, which aims to implement a restructuring of your debt, preserve its business and seek a solution that maximizes value with its creditors and stakeholders, according to the company.
“The occurrence of the Plan depends on the verification of certain conditions and events, including the execution of a contract for the sale of corporate interests, assets and operations of InterCement to a third-party investor, a transaction that is still in the negotiation phase,” he added.
The validity of a new period of exclusivity reflects the complexity of the negotiation for a possible transfer of the total capital of InterCement into the hands of CSN. That is why, despite the successive extensions, there are some interested parties in Argentina to acquire Loma Negra who do not lose their hopes.
Among the local suitors is businessman Marcelo Mindlin, owner of the Sacde construction company. His project is to stay with the former Fortabat family company to vertically integrate all of his company’s operations.
Anyway, InterCement He never hid his preference for completing a block sale of its assets in Argentina and Brazil. The company belongs to the powerful Camargo Correa group and is implementing a gradual divestment plan, which began with its operations in Africa.
Meanwhile, CSN – for now the candidate with the greatest possibilities to retain the assets of InterCement – is the second cement group in Brazil, with 21% of the market. The first is the Votorantim group, with 35%. And the third is Intercement, with 14% of that market.
Among the companies that at some point were rumored in Brazil to be interested in InterCement’s assets are the Italian company Buzzi Unicem, the Polimix group, owner of Cimento Mizu, and two Chinese companies. One is Sinoma and the other is Huaxin Cement, which in 2023 took over InterCement’s assets in Africa.
Loma Negra leads the cement market in Argentina
Loma Negra Industrial Company Argentina Public Limited Company has 2,900 employees and was founded in 1926 by the Argentine businessman Alfredo Fortabat in Olavarría, where he discovered limestone.
It is currently the leading cement company in Argentina, with almost 50% of the market. It produces and distributes cement, masonry cement, lime, aggregates and concrete, products used mainly in private and public construction.
It also operates the Ferrosur Roca freight railway network through its 80% stake in the controlling company of Ferrosur Roca SA, which recently achieved the extension of the concession until September 10, 2025.
It also owns 100% of the company Recycomb, a company founded in 1996 dedicated to the treatment of industrial waste through Fuel Blending technology for disposal in cement kilns.
The very nature of its activity makes Loma Negra be very sensitive to the fluctuations of the economic contextsince cement demand tends to move in parallel to the economic activity cycle, with a high correlation with GDP.
In addition, it has high exposure to the construction sector, an activity that is going through a very critical period this year due to the drop in activity and the sharp cut in public works implemented by Javier Milei’s government.
Source: Ambito
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