By John Revill
ZURICH--Holcim Ltd (HOLN.VX) sold its stake in Siam City Cement
(Public) Company Ltd. for 655 million Swiss francs ($681 million),
the Swiss cement giant said Monday.
Jona-based Holcim said the sale of its 27.5% stake in the Thai
company would result in a pre-tax gain of roughly 365 million
francs. The sum was booked in the first quarter, Holcim said.
Jardine Matheson Group (JAR.LN), a Hong Kong conglomerate,
bought 24.9% of SCC from Holcim, while institutional investors
purchased 2.6%. Holcim had held a stake in SCC since 1998, a Holcim
spokesman said, and began selling off its investment in 2012.
Holcim said the sale wasn't related to its pending $44 billion
union with Paris-based Lafarge SA (LG.FR). The two companies, which
aim to create a building-materials giant, have agreed to sell
assets in Europe, North America and the Philippines as part of
their efforts to win approval from anti-trust authorities.
The Holcim-Lafarge union hit a new bump over the weekend when
Eurocement Holding AG, Holcim's second-largest shareholder, said it
would oppose the deal unless new terms were struck. Earlier this
month the deal was restructured to offer nine Holcim shares for 10
Lafarge shares after investors complained the original terms
undervalued Holcim.
The deal was originally a one-for-one share swap.
Holcim shareholders meet on May 8 to vote on the deal.
-Write to John Revill at john.revill@wsj.com
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