Semen Indonesia Is Poised to Buy LafargeHolcim Unit

(Bloomberg) -- PT Semen Indonesia, the country’s top cement maker, is close to acquiring LafargeHolcim Ltd.’s local business in a deal that values the unit at about $1.75 billion including debt, people with knowledge of the matter said.

An accord may be announced as early as Monday, the people said, declining to be identified as the deliberations are confidential. The talks may yet fall apart, they cautioned.

A representative for LafargeHolcim declined to comment, while an official at Semen Indonesia said he couldn’t immediately comment. 

The business had drawn early interest from Japan’s Taiheiyo Cement Corp., Malaysian tycoon Francis Yeoh’s YTL Corp. and Indonesian billionaire Anthoni Salim’s conglomerate Salim Group, people familiar with the matter said in August.

LafargeHolcim, the world’s biggest cement maker, in March announced plans to divest at least 2 billion Swiss francs ($2 billion) of assets next year as new Chief Executive Officer Jan Jenisch embarks on a five-year turnaround plan to increase sales and cash flow. The company owns 80.6 percent of PT Holcim Indonesia, the locally listed unit that houses its business in the country.

Shares of Holcim Indonesia have surged more than 80 percent since the end of September, compared with a 3 percent decline in the benchmark Jakarta Composite Index.

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.