Sofima SAS, a fully-held direct subsidiary of Lafarge SA, is divesting its 100 per cent stake in Lafarge Pakistan Cement. Lafarge currently holds 73 per cent stake in the company, which has a 2.5 mtpa plant. Holcim does not have a plant in Pakistan and the move to let go the asset in Pakistan is not connected to the much-anticipated Lafarge-Holcim merger. It seems that this is Lafarge SA´s independent decision. DG Khan Cement Company of Pakistan and Vision Holdings from Middle East have already expressed their interest in acquisition of Lafarge S.A. DG Khan Cement has a 4.02 mt plant in Chakwal running at 98 per cent capacity. DG Khan has reported a 4 per cent decline in earnings for the first nine months of the current financial year, attributing the loss to higher energy and production costs. The possible merger may give the advantage of scale to the company.
DG Khan has informed all three stock exchanges and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan that it has the approval of its board of directors to proceed with due diligence for the acquisition.