Tunisia Seeks Buyer for Majority Stake in Carthage Cement

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The Tunisian government has opened a public bid for the sale of its majority stake in Carthage Cement.

Carthage Cement S.A is a public company which is specializes in the production of cement, aggregates and concrete.

The Tunisian State and Bina Corp are the controlling shareholders of Carthage Cement S.A with 52 percent stake in the cement firm.

A statement issued by the sellers explained that the company would be sold to a strategic and/or a financial investor who is capable to insure its management and development.

For this purpose, the consortium formed by ECC MAZARS, IEG TUNISIA–Corporate Advisory and Mrabet Avocats is acting as the Exclusive Advisor of Al Karama for achieving the entire sale transaction.

Carthage Cement has a 2.2 million ton capacity plant equipped by a market-leading supplier of cement industry equipment. It is located in the southeast of Tunis at the bottom of Djebel Rsas, a Jurassic limestone outcrop.

The company operates two side-by-side quarries, the first has an area of 218 hectares and is on property, whereas the second measures 140 hectares and is leased from the public property. A more detailed presentation of the company is available in the prequalification documentation.

According to the statement released, the sale process will be conducted in two phases: A pre-qualification phase and a binding offer phase open to all pre-qualified investors.

Investors interested in participating into the sale process are requested to withdraw the pre-qualification document that defines the transaction process and the pre-qualification criteria, from Tuesday, December 19, 2017 – 10 am CET at Al Karama Holding’s headquarters located in Rue du Lac d’Annecy, Passage du Lac Malawi – Les Berges du Lac – Tunis.

The withdrawal of the pre-qualification document is conditioned by (i) the presentation to the seller of the non-disclosure agreement duly signed by the legal representative of the interested investor, and (ii) the payment a non-refundable fee amounting to 4,500 TND ($1,851). Fees are payable by cash, by certified cheque in favour of Al Karama Holding or by bank transfer.

According to the statement, the bid is open to Tunisian or foreign legal entities and interested Investors may act alone or form a consortium represented by a leader.

“At any time during the process, Al Karama Holding reserves the right to exclude any candidate from participating in the sale process in case of non-compliance with the regulations.

Interested investors should submit their Expression of Interest directly or send it by Rapid Post (date as per postmark) to the following address: Al Karama Holding, Rue du Lac d’Annecy, Passage du Lac Malawi, Les Berges du Lac, 1053 Tunis.

“The deadline for submitting the Expression of Interest is Friday, February 16, 2018 at 5 pm CET

“The pre-qualified candidates will be informed of their qualification on Friday 02/03/2018 and will be invited to withdraw the tender documents including (i) the tender terms and conditions, (ii) the Information Memorandum and (iii) drafts of the share purchase agreements (SPA).

“They will have the opportunity to conduct Due Diligence, to visit the plant, to meet the management and to propose amendments to the SPA,” the statement said.