Camargo Corrêa bids to take over Cimpor

Brazilian conglomerate Camargo Corrêa has made a € 2.48 billion (US$ 3.31 billion) bid to fully acquire Portuguese cement maker Cimpor. Camargo Corrêa currently owns 33.3% of the company and has offered € 5.50 (US$ 7.35) per share, a 10% premium on the closing price on March 30, the day before the offer was made. The deal values Cimpor at € 3.7 billion (US$ 4.94 billion).

Camargo Corrêa acquired its holding in Cimpor in early 2010, following a bidding war involving two other Brazilian groups, CSN and Votorantim. As a result of the various deals that were done, Votorantim acquired a 17.3% stake in Cimpor, previously held by Lafarge. Its total shareholding in Cimpor currently stands at 21.2%, but it is part of a voter syndicate with Portuguese bank Caixa Geral de Depositos (CGD), which holds a further 9.6%. One aspect of the shareholder agreement between Votorantim and CGD is that both parties have agreed not to take their joint shareholding above 30%.

In addition to this 64.4% of Cimpor's shares, a further 10.7% is owned by Manuel Fino and the Portuguese contractor he is a director of, Soares Da Costa. A further 10% is owned by a pension fund, and only 15.6% of Cimpor's shares form the free float that is traded on the Lisbon Euronext stock exchange.