[Original] Lafarge's Assets in Pakistan May Be About to Complete the Sale

   Although Lafarge (Pakistan) Cement Limited (LPCL) has not yet announced the final tender date for its 75.86% stake, the frequent activity of potential buyers indicates that Lafarge may be about to complete the sale of its assets in Pakistan.

   A person briefed on the process said the potential buyer had completed "due diligence".

   LPCL's plant in Chakwal is reported to have an annual cement capacity of 2.4 million tonnes. LPCL is currently 73% owned by its parent company, Lafarge.

   The companies that have shown interest in acquiring majority and control of LPCL are Vision Holding Middle East Limited (VHMEL), Bestway Cement, DG Khan Cement and Kohat Cement.

   Bestway Cement announced that its board of directors at its meeting on Wednesday authorized its acquisition of, first, all the shares held by Lafarge in LPCL through its branches and agents, which represent 75.86% of the total paid-up capital of LPCL; Second, the acquisition of all Lafarge shares in ESocom Pakistan (Pvt), representing 50% of the total paid-up capital of the Pvt.

   The board of directors of Bestway Cement said: "The board authorizes the company to submit its offer to the sellers of LPCL and EPPL for consideration and to begin the process of developing a share purchase agreement."

   DG Khan Cement also announced at the same day's meeting that its board of directors, "after due diligence, has approved the final bid submitted for the acquisition of nearly 1.105 million shares of LPCL."

   In April 2014, the board of directors of DG Khan also approved its participation in the tender and participated in due diligence.

   In addition, Kohat Cement Limited, which also participated in the bidding, said its board of directors approved the company's final offer for 75.86% of LPCL's paid-in capital at a meeting on Tuesday.

   Editor's note: "Due diligence" refers to the comprehensive and in-depth review of the historical data and documents, the background of managers, market risks, management risks, technical risks and capital risks of enterprises by intermediaries with the cooperation of enterprises, which mostly occurs in the public offering and listing of enterprises and the acquisition of enterprises.

   The purpose of due diligence is to enable the buyer to find out as much as possible about the shares or assets they are buying. From the buyer's point of view, due diligence is also risk management. There are various risks inherent in M & a for buyers and their financiers.