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Firms seeking to acquire troubled ARM Cement have submitted their final bids to the company’s administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) who will announce the winning offer in the coming weeks.
The move draws closer to completion the process of selling the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm, which collapsed under a heavy debt load.
“We received the final bids for ARM Cement last month and we are currently reviewing them,” Muniu Thoithi, a PwC executive and one of ARM’s administrators, told Business Daily.
He added that the winning bid will be selected taking into account several factors, including the size of the cash offer and terms imposed by an acquirer.
The administrators are also expected to make sure that the structure of the offers and terms set by bidders comply with local laws.
It remains to be seen if ARM’s shareholders, who suffered large losses from the company’s stock rout, will get any cash in the buyout. Mr Thoithi said additional information such as the number and identity of the final bidders cannot be disclosed due to the sensitivity of the transaction.
Shares of ARM remain suspended until mid-August. A bid for the whole company will give the successful acquirer an instant presence in the local and regional cement market, with a need to spend more than Sh2 billion to upgrade the company’s factories.
ARM operations in Kenya include a clinker and cement grinding plant in Kaloleni and a cement grinding plant at Athi River.
The company also manufactures, imports and sells cement in Rwanda through its wholly owned subsidiary Kigali Cement Company.
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