Fortune Cement prepares for entry of Lafarge

Fortune Cement Corp. (FCC) will reorganize and restructure its operations in preparation for the impending entry of the Lafarge Group, the Paris-based global leader in construction and building supplies.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, FCC corporate information officer Gilbert Garcia said the company’s board had authorized management to enter into various service agreements with Lafarge Cement Services Inc.

Aside from extending services, licensing, purchasing, sales and marketing, accounting and those relating to land use, environmental compliance and related matters, Lafarge will also allow FCC to use its trademarks, tradename, corporate logos and other intellectual property, Garcia said.

The deal with Lafarge comes on the heels of its acquisition of Blue Circle Philippines Inc., the foreign partner of FCC’s majority shareholder the SM Group of retail tycoon Henry Sy.

As this developed, a shake-up in the board of FCC took effect with the resignation of Blue Circle nominees Peter Hoddinott as chairman, John Reinier Dizon and Mary Margaret San Pedro as directors.

They were replaced by former Republic Cement senior vice president Renato Sunico, Romeo Versula and Maria D.R. Angeles to serve the unexpired term of the previous directors.

In August last year, FCC started integrating its operations with three other cement companies: Republic Cement, Zeus Holdings Inc. and Iligan Cement through a simultaneous share exchange to create the country’s second largest cement manufacturing block. – Conrado Diaz Jr.