Savannah Clinker has withdrawn its $197.2 million bid to acquire Bamburi Cement, clearing the path for Tanzania’s Amsons Group, which submitted a lower offer of $182 million. The withdrawal comes days after Savannah Clinker CEO Benson Ndeta was arrested and later released amid fraud allegations.
On Wednesday, Savannah and the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) said the offer was withdrawn after the financier pulled out following Ndeta’s arrest. Ndeta was arrested over allegations that he fraudulently obtained a $35 million loan from Absa Bank Kenya eight years ago.
“The withdrawal of the competing offer has been occasioned by the recent well-publicised arrest and indictment of the chairman and main shareholder of Savanna, which has led to the financier of the competing offer seeking additional due diligence, coupled with the decline by the CMA of a request made on December 2, 2024, to extend the offer period by 60 days to enable the competing offer to respond to any inquiries,” Savannah said.
Regulatory disclosures revealed that Savannah Clinker was backed by Global Infrastructure Finance and Development Authority Inc (GIFDA), a non-profit infrastructure projects financier.
On July 27, Holcim, a Swiss construction materials manufacturer and the largest shareholder in Bamburi approved the $182.8 million buyout offer from Amsons Group, but the offer from Savannah Clinker complicated the process.
Savannah Clinker made its counteroffer one week after Holcim accepted the offer from Amsons. Savannah Clinker offered $0.54 per share, a 53.34% premium on share price, compared to Amsons’ $182.8 million bid.
CMA said the only valid acquisition for Bamburi is from Amsons and shareholders who had accepted Savannah Clinker’s bid have until December 5, 2024, to “reconsider their decision.”
“Shareholders who do not change their decision will be deemed to have declined the offer by Amsons,” CMA said.
If regulators approve Amsons acquisition offer, the local cement manufacturer which controls about 30% of the market could delist from the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
