Rival bid for Cimpor

A Second Brazilian conglomerate has put forward a proposal to merge with Portuguese cement manufacturer Cimpor. In a softer approach than the hostile bid launched by CSN in December Camargo Corrêa has announced plans to acquire between a minority stake in Cimpor through private channels, rather than a public stock market offer.

The offer to acquire a sub-50% stake in Cimpor is conditional on Camargo Corrêa first securing between 15% and 25% of the company's share capital and voting rights.

In a bid to sweeten the deal, Camargo Corrêa will pay an extraordinary dividend of € 350 million to Cimpor's remaining shareholders, following the acquisition. If Camargo Corrêa acquired just under 50% of Cimpor, this would equate to a payment of about € 1,05 per share to the remaining owners.

Cimpor described the offer as "Preliminary and non-binding", and said it was being used as the basis for on-going merger talks between the two companies.