Savannah Clinker has made a $197.2 million counter-offer for Bamburi Cement, weeks after Kenya’s biggest cement maker accepted an acquisition bid from Tanzania’s Amsons Group. Savannah Clinker offered $0.54 per share, a 53.34% premium on share price, compared to Amsons’ $182.8 million bid.
It will complicate the sale of Bamburi after Holcim, a Swiss construction materials manufacturer and its largest shareholder, approved an offer from Amsons Group on July 27. Holcim agreed to sell its 58.6% stake and is awaiting regulatory approval from the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) and the Capital Markets Authority (CMA).
If Savannah Clinker’s offer is approved by Bamburi’s board and the regulators, it will be one of the largest deals in the history of the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). Savannah Clinker is owned by Benson Ndeta, a director of Savannah Cement, which entered administration in July 2023.
“Savannah Clinker Limited notifies the public that it has on 27th August 2024 served Bamburi Cement PLC with a notice of intention to acquire up to 100% of the ordinary shares of Bamburi,” the company said.
“The competing offer is in response to a proposed offer by Amsons Industries, of which notice of intention to make a take-over offer was issued on 10th July 2024.”
The company said Ndeta is “in the process of exiting as a director of Savannah Cement,” which has been rocked by boardroom wars and legal woes over billions of shillings owed to banks and suppliers.
Unlike Amsons Group, Savannah Clinker may not delist the company from the NSE.
“The competing offeror does not intend to de-list Bamburi from the NSE. However, should the competing offeror achieve acceptances of 90% or more of the offer share, the competing offeror shall in accordance with the take-over regulations, offer the remaining shareholders a consideration that is equal to the prevailing market price,” the company said.
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