SCG Cement-Building Materials Co., Ltd., a member of Siam Cement Group (SCG), has just spent $156 million on buying up the shares of Vietnam Construction Materials JSC (VCM).

The Bangkok Post quoted a statement from SCG as saying that the enterprise value (EV) of this transaction was $440 million, including a net debt and additional investment to improve the efficiency of the acquired assets.

VCM has a capacity of 3.1 million tonnes a year. According to SCG, the plant has the potential to be more efficient. After the transaction, the total cement production capacity of SCG in the ASEAN, would be 33.5 million tonnes a year, with its Thai capacity at 23 million tonnes a year.

VCM was established in 2008 by international conglomerate Kusto. It produces cement bearing the brand STARCEMT, STARMAX, and STARPRO, and exports clinkers to Bangladesh, Malaysia, and the Philippines. As of July 2016, it was employing over 300 workers.

Earlier, on February 28, SCG’s compatriot Siam City Cement finished the purchase of LafargeHolcim’s 65 per cent stake in cement producer LafargeHolcim Vietnam, becoming the new strategic foreign shareholder in the company, while state-owned Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem) holds the other 35 per cent.

VIR