Atlas Cement, UniCem merger with Lafarge to solidify market ―CEO, Lafarge Africa

SHAREHOLDERS of Lafarge Africa Plc have approved its merger with Atlas Cement and United Cement Company (UniCem), wholly-owned subsidiaries of the building solutions provider.

The approval was given on Monday, at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held at the Muson Centre in Lagos.

Speaking on the merger, Michel Pucherchos, CEO of Lafarge Africa said the merger was part of the asset consolidation which started in June 2014.

“It will solidify our market position in Nigeria particularly our presence in the South-South and South-East regions. We have seen our installed cement production capacity grow from 4.5 to over 10 million metric tons per year with a diversified product range,” he said.

Total industry installed Cement production capacity in Nigeria has grown rapidly from 4.3 in 2004 to 37 million metric tons in 2014, due to government policies which banned importation of bulk cement in favour of local production in 2012.

However, cement consumption in the largest cement economy in Africa still lags behind its peers. Investors in the sector remain very optimistic based on favourable demographics, a rising middle class, rapid urbanisation and a significant housing and infrastructural deficit which should all combine to support increased demand.

With the merger, the board of Lafarge Africa assured that there would be no significant impact on the employees of UniCem and Atlas and on their terms and conditions of employment.

“Both companies will transfer their assets, liabilities and undertakings including real and intellectual property rights to Lafarge Africa,” they noted.

Atlas Cement, based in Port-Harcourt, has moved from supplying Ordinary Portland Cement to providing cement solutions to the oil and gas sector. It serves as the hub for Lafarge Africa’s ready-mix operations in the South-South and South-East markets. Production capacity at Calabar-based UniCem was doubled in 2016 to 5 million metric tons consolidating the cement maker’s leading position in the region.