It was smooth run for the management board of Lafarge Africa Plc as shareholders, on Monday, gave their support for the planned merger with United Cement Company of Nigeria Limited and Atlas Cement Company Limited.
Business Hilights recalls that a Lagos High Court had ordered the management and board of Lafarge Africa to convene such meeting in Lagos so as to give the scheme merger the needed legal backing.
In his remarks after the feat, the Chairman, Lafarge Africa, Mr. Mobolaji Balogun described the approval as the best thing to happen to the group at this time, noting that the feat would among other thing, deepen the operations of Unicem and Atlas by way of cutting down operating costs.
Besides, the deal will also ventilate the company ahead of further expansion and growth in cement manufacturing, marketing businesses and general wellbeing of the construction solutions provider.
Balogun further averred that the merger, will also raise corporate performance which will translate to better returns to shareholders’ fund.
Accordingly, the elated shareholders, hailed the decision and foresight business of the management which gave birth to the successful merger.
Before now, Lafarge Africa is the sole shareholders of Unicem and Atlas with Lafarge Africa holding an indirect 100 per cent equity shareholding in each of Unicem and Atlas. Atlas was commissioned for operation in 2001 in Rivers State within the Federal Ocean Terminal, Onne and the plant was operated on a floating vessel which had a nominal capacity to pack 500,000 metric tonnes of cement per annum.
Unicem is headquartered in Calabar, Cross River State, with all its cement manufacturing operations consolidated at the Mfamosing plant. The Mfamosing plant is a modern production facility with an annual production capacity of five million tonnes and was inaugurated in 2009.
