Asia Cement named preferred bidder for Baring-owned Halla

Korea Exchange-listed Asia Cement said in a filing that it had won exclusivity, but offered no further details. According to Pulse, the deal is worth KRW700-800 billion ($625-714 million). Baring and Glenwood Private Equity acquired the business from LafargeHolcim in 2016 for approximately KRW560 million, and Baring subsequently bought out its partner to take full control.

The company was founded in 1978 and Lafarge paid $114 million for a 39.9% interest in 2000 and later assumed majority ownership. At the time of the 2016 sale, Halla was Korea's fifth-largest cement producer. The company has three production facilities with a combined annual capacity of approximately 10 million tons.

The acquisition of Halla would reportedly increase Asia Cement’s local market share to 20% from the current 7%, putting it on a par with market leaders Ssangyong Cement and Hanil Cement. The company recorded sales of KRW455.7 billion and net income of KRW42.6 billion in 2016. It had total assets of KRW850.5 billion compared to KRW640 billion for Halla.

Ssangyong is majority-owned by domestic GP Hahn & Co, which has made a string of cement acquisitions with a view to consolidating the industry. Hanil became the largest player by market share earlier this year when it bought Hyundai Cement, outbidding rivals including Ssangyong.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Industrials
• Trade sale
• South Korea
• Baring Private Equity Asia
• Exit
• manufacturing