Sarrai Group, a Ugandan conglomerate, and Rwimi Holdings Limited are buying local cement manufacturer Hima Cement from Holcim, the Swiss building materials company, for $120mn, Holcim announced on Wednesday.
According to Holcim’s 2022 annual report, the company held a 71 per cent stake in Hima Cement and its subsidiaries at the end of the year, with a total share capital of Shs19.1bn ($5.1mn). It held the remaining shares in Hima through a subsidiary of Kenya’s Bamburi Cement, in which it has a controlling interest.
The transaction price is Hima’s enterprise value, derived by adding the company’s market capitalisation, debt, preference shares and minority interests, and deducting cash and cash equivalents.
Holcim, the world’s largest cement company by sales, also announced that it is selling its 65 per cent stake in Tanzania’s Mbeya Cement Company Ltd to Amsons Group, a Tanzanian conglomerate.
“These divestments advance our strategy to consolidate our leadership in core markets as the global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions,” the company said in a statement.
“With the Sarrai Group and Amsons Group, we are pleased to have found strategic and trusted partners who are best positioned to develop these businesses in the long term.”
There is no information on the other buyer, Rwimi Holdings, and the company does not have a website or online presence.
The transaction is subject to certain conditions and shareholder approval, but Holcim did not give an indication as to when it is expected to be completed.
Hima Cement has three plants in Uganda — in Kasese, Tororo, and Namanve — and distributes cement in Rwanda through a subsidiary. Its forerunner was the state-owned Uganda Cement Industries, which was privatised in 1994. In 1999, Hima was acquired by France’s Lafarge, which merged with Holcim in 2015. It is Uganda’s second largest cement producer after Tororo Cement.
Sarrai Group is a diversified conglomerate based in Uganda, although it also has operations in Kenya and Malawi. It was founded by Sarbjit Singh Rai, a member of Kenya’s uber-rich Rai family.
The group has business interests in sugar processing, ethanol, electricity, foam mattresses, consumer goods, engineered wood, and cement.
