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ICD buys $300m stake in Nigerian cement firm

DUBAI, September 8, 2014

Investment Corp of Dubai (ICD), the emirate's sovereign wealth fund, said it has reached an agreement to purchase a minority stake in Nigeria’s largest cement manufacturer Dangote Cement.

Dangote Cement, which is listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange, forms part of the Dangote Group, a diversified conglomerate of African businesses, founded and controlled by internationally renowned Nigerian business leader Aliko Dangote.

Under the terms of the agreement with Dangote Industries, ICD will be investing $300m to acquire a minority interest.

The deal was signed in the presence of Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani, the ICD executive director and CEO and Aliko Dangote, the president and CEO of Dangote Industries.

Dangote Cement, which has in recent years achieved significant revenue growth and industry-leading margins, has market capitalization of $23 billion.

This places the company, in value terms, above industry heavyweights such as Anhui, CRH and Heidelberg, and leaves it second in value only to the recently merged Lafarge/Holcim.

This is the first major investment for ICD in the high growth African continent and is aligned with one of its key strategic goals to pursue diversification.

Commenting on the deal, Al Shaibani said Sub-Saharan Africa, and particularly Nigeria, provided fantastic long-term investment opportunities.

"In this case, Dangote Cement is offering some excellent investment credentials, being a highly profitable, well capitalised and efficiently run organization, with a market leading position in the largest African economy and very well positioned to access and act on growth opportunities across the continent," he noted.

"Consequently, we are very pleased to be given the opportunity to invest and participate in its future growth potential," he added.

Aliko Dangote said: "We are pleased to welcome such a prestigious investor as the ICD to our growing list of international, blue-chip shareholders. They share our vision of Africa that will grow to become an economic powerhouse in the coming decades as its people rise to become prosperous members of the global economy.”  

“Our products may be simple bags of cement but millions of Africans will use them to build a continent that is rich in opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors, like ICD, who support them,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service
 




Tags: cement | Dubai | Nigeria | Stake | ICD |

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