M&A WATCH- HeidelbergCement looks to acquire 100% of subsidiary Suez Cement: Suez Cement’s German parent company HeidelbergCement has submitted a mandatory tender offer to the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) for the remaining 33% stake it doesn’t already own in the company, according to a regulatory filing. The MTO is for nearly 59.8 mn shares at EGP 7.50 apiece, giving the transaction an initial value of more than EGP 448 mn.

Suez Cement, in turn, is looking to snap up a 28% stake in subsidiary Tourah Portland Cement Company (Tourah Cement). The company launched a separate MTO for more than 20 mn shares at EGP 7.18 apiece, valuing the stake at more than EGP 144 mn, the company said in a disclosure. Suez Cement currently holds a 66.2% stake in Tourah Cement. There were no details on the reason for Heidelberg’s MTO for Suez. Suez said in a filing to the EGX (pdf) that Heidelberg was advised by local representatives to have Suez lodge a separate MTO for Tourah in a bid to protect shareholders, and avoid any regulatory hangups caused by the first MTO. HeidelbergCement subsidiary Ciments Francais holds direct and indirect stakes in Tourah of up to 55%.

The cement industry in Egypt has been suffering for years from a drawn out supply glut that has seen producers lose bns. Lafarge Egypt's CEO Solomon Baumgartner Aviles said last month that as many as six players could be forced to exit the market by 2021. Tourah Cement is one candidate: the company has already suspended operations, and is currently struggling to turn a profit. Suez Cement’s losses have also been widening in recent quarters, with sales struggling to pick up.