Bestway to invest $30mln in Lafarge Cement

KARACHI: Bestway Cement, a subsidiary of UK-based Bestway Group, announced its intention to invest $30 million in recently acquired Lafarge Pakistan Cement, according to a statement on Thursday.
“Bestway intended to invest nearly $30 million in the acquired company (Lafarge Pakistan Cement) including, among other things, an environmentally friendly waste heat recovery power plant,” said Zameer Choudrey, Chief Executive Officer at Bestway Cement.
The company made the announcement while formally assuming the management control of Lafarge Pakistan Cement Limited.
Choudrey, who is also CEO of Bestway Group, said taking over of Lafarge Pakistan was a major milestone for his group. He extended a warm welcome to the staff of Lafarge Pakistan into Bestway family, and expressed commitment to develop the acquired company into a role model for the cement industry.
Earlier, Bestway made successful bid for 75.86 percent of Lafarge Pakistan’s shares for an enterprise value of $329 million in July 2014. Besides, the company also acquired another 12.07 percent share of the target company through the public offer process taking its shareholding in Lafarge Pakistan to 87.93 percent, the statement said.
After the acquisition of Lafarge Pakistan’s 2.5 million tonnes per annum cement plant located in Chakwal, Bestway Cement is now largest cement manufacturer in Pakistan, with a total capacity of more than eight million tonnes per annum - representing 18 percent of the entire industry’s capacity in the country, the statement added. Bestway is by far the largest overseas Pakistani investor in the country and Choudrey reaffirmed his determination to continue playing his role in the economic development of Pakistan, the statement added.
The UK-based global conglomerate is the UK’s eighteenth largest privately owned company and seventh largest family-owned business.