SMC offer ‘best option’ among bids, says Lafarge

MANILA, Philippines — Lafarge Holcim Ltd., Europe’s biggest cement maker, is pleased to have chosen San Miguel Corp. (SMC), the country’s biggest conglomerate, as the buyer of its Philippine business among other contenders which include foreign cement giants.

“With SMC, we are convinced that we have found the right partner to develop the business further in the interest of all stakeholders,” Lafarge media relations officer Eike Christian Meuter said in an email to The STAR.

The Switzerland-based cement company received a lot of offers but SMC gave the best option to further grow Holcim Philippines, Meuter  said.

“We have received interest from different parties on the business. Eventually, SMC emerged as the most attractive option,” he said.

He declined to reveal which cement companies pursued their interest to the end but industry sources said foreign giants that vied for Lafarge were Japanese giant Taiheyo Cement Corp., Thailand’s Siam City Cement and Anhui Cement Corp. of China.

In the homestretch of the sale the past two weeks, Anhui was said to have been close to bagging the deal after meeting with the sellers in Hong Kong, sources said.