The battle to acquire Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed cement maker, Bamburi Cement Plc has intensified, with the two front-runners making pronouncements following the release of a shareholder circular Thursday last week.
In August, Savannah Clinker countered an offer by the Tanzanian business conglomerate, Amsons Group for instance upped its offer to Bamburi Cement’s shareholders by about 9.4 per cent.
Savannah Clinker, which businessman Benson owns is now ready to offer the owners of Bamburi Sh76.55 per share, which is higher than the Sh70 per share the firm, had offered in its first bid in August.
This translates to Sh27.7 billion for the firm’s 363 million shares, which is Sh2.4 billion more compared to Sh25.2 billion it had promised in the competing bid.
“Shareholders must accept only one of the two offers: if any shareholder accepts both offers, both acceptances will be rejected,” said Bamburi Cement in a shareholder circular.
The firm also said the irrevocable undertaking Bamburi Cement’s majority shareholders, Fincen and Kencem, had given Amsons was terminated in early October.
Established in 2019, SCL is a mining, manufacturing, processing, packaging, marketing, and cement solutions provider.
It is also developing a limestone extraction and clinker processing plant in Kitui County. It has promised to keep Bamburi Cement listed at the Nairobi bourse if it clinches the deal.
On Friday, Amsons Group started its marketing campaign to secure the support of Bamburi Cement shareholders.
In a statement, the Tanzanian firm said it intends to acquire 100 per cent of the listed cement maker through its Kenyan subsidiary and investment vehicle, Amsons Industries (K) Ltd.
It said it intends to invest more than Sh23.5 billion which translates to Sh65 per share. The Amsons Group bid is fully financially backed by KCB Bank and secured by a $5.3 million break fee held in an escrow account at ABSA Kenya.
“This is a first in the Kenyan capital markets scene and a demonstration of the seriousness of the Amsons Group’s take-over offer,’’ the firm said.
According to the shareholders circular issued by Bamburi Cement Directors, Amson’s acquisition offer opened for acceptance this morning ( 9.00 a.m. EAT on 25 October 2024 ) and will run until 5.00 p.m. EAT on December 5, 2024.
The offer’s Closing Date may be extended with the Capital Markets Authority’s (CMA) approval.
Amsons Group managing director Edha Nahdi confirmed that Amsons Offer Price represents a 42.4 per cent premium to the closing market price of Bamburi shares on the Reference Date and a 52.94 per cent premium to the 30-trading day VWAP of Bamburi Shares from the Reference Date.
The 30-trading-day VWAP metric most accurately depicts Bamburi’s share price when the news of the offer had not been communicated to the public.
Amsons has partnered
with KCB Investment Bank as its
transaction adviser, underscoring
its commitment and determination
to engage professionally with the
Kenyan market. While describing
Amsons’ offer as robust—based on Bamburi Cement’s underlying value and guaranteed financial underwriting by KCB Bank Kenya—Nahdi
also said the firm is keen to foster
bilateral relations between Kenya
and Tanzania with the $180 million
(Sh23.5 billion) investment bid.