Italcementi sells one Turkish business

Italcementi has agreed to sell one of its Turkish businesses, Set Group Holding, to Limak Group for € 290 million (US$ 400 million). The transaction does not include Afyon Cimento, a listed Turkish company in which Italcementi holds a majority stake.

The assets included in the Set Group sale comprise three cement plants in Ankaara, Balikesir and Trakya, with a total capacity of 2.3 million tonnes per year, a grinding plant in Ambarli with a 1.2 million tonnes per year capacity and 13 ready-mixed concrete facilities. Last year the Set Group had sales of € 130 million (US$ 180 million).

The buyer, Limak Group, is a diversified company which has its roots in the Turkish construction and cement industries, but today also has interests in tourism, energy, aviation, investment, food and beverages.

Although the sale only covers part of Italcementi's activities in Turkey, there was a hint that the company was considering its wider future in the country. Commenting on its continued holding in Afyon Cimento, the company said, "Italcementi Group might consider, in future, the best industrial or financial alternatives for this asset."