logo
Attock Cement acquisition: Alpha Cement files PAI as Bestway exits the race

Attock Cement acquisition: Alpha Cement files PAI as Bestway exits the race

Alpha Cement Company Limited, a Karachi-based company, intends to acquire the majority stake and control of Attock Cement Company Limited (ACPL).
The development comes as ACPL's parent company, Pharaon Investment Group Ltd, signalled its intent to divest its shareholding in the cement manufacturer.
As per a public announcement of intention (PAI) filed by Arif Habib Limited, appointed as Manager to the Offer by Alpha Cement Company, the 'acquirer intends to acquire 84.06% shareholding, i.e. 115.5 million shares, and control of the target company, i.e. ACPL'.
Moreover, Alpha Cement has expressed interest in acquiring a further 7.97% (10.95 million shares) through a public offer, if required.
Fauji Foundation, KAPCO eye majority stake in Attock Cement
As per the PAI, Alpha Cement's principal line of business is to produce, manufacture, prepare, treat, process, refine, and deal in all kinds of cement and its allied products.
Bestway exits the race
In a separate notice, Bestway Cement (BWCL), one of the largest cement manufacturers in the country, informed that it had submitted a non-binding offer to Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), which is handling the sale process on behalf of PIGL, to purchase the majority stake in Attock Cement.
'This is in reference to your letter No. PSX/Gen-1107 dated 2nd June 2025, and the article published in the Business Recorder dated 30th May 2025, which reports on the proposed divestment by Pharaon Investment Group Limited (PIGL) of its shareholding in Attock Cement Pakistan Limited (ACPL), and mentions Bestway Cement Limited (BWCL) among the suitors and as one of the interested parties in the said transaction,' BWCL notice read.
The cement maker shared that it evaluated the opportunity presented by the proposed divestment of PIGL's shareholding in ACPL and submitted a non-binding offer to Standard Chartered Bank (SCB),
'This submission only constituted the preliminary and non-binding phase of the transaction process, which was intended to communicate our indicative interest to the seller's advisors.'
However, BWCL was later informed that it had not been invited to participate in the second phase of the divestment process.
Attock Cement Pakistan Ltd was incorporated in Pakistan on October 14, 1981, as a public limited company. The company is a subsidiary of Pharaon Investment Group Limited Holding S.A.L, Lebanon.
Its main business activity is the manufacturing and sale of cement.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Tankers U-turn, zig-zag, pause around Strait of Hormuz
Tankers U-turn, zig-zag, pause around Strait of Hormuz

Business Recorder

time7 hours ago

  • Business Recorder

Tankers U-turn, zig-zag, pause around Strait of Hormuz

SINGAPORE: At least two supertankers made U-turns at the Strait of Hormuz following U.S. military strikes on Iran, shiptracking data shows, as more than a week of violence in the region prompts vessels to speed, pause, or alter their journeys. Washington's decision to join Israel's attacks on Iran has stoked fears that Iran could retaliate by closing the strait between Iran and Oman through which around 20% of global oil and gas demand flows. That has spurred forecasts of oil surging to $100 a barrel. Disruption is already evident, with tankers avoiding spending more time than needed in the strait, industry sources said. Singapore-based Sentosa Shipbrokers said that over the past week, empty tankers entering the Gulf are down 32% while loaded tanker departures are down 27% from early May levels. The Coswisdom Lake, a very large crude carrier (VLCC), reached the strait on Sunday before making a U-turn and heading south, Kpler and LSEG data showed. On Monday it turned back again, resuming its journey towards the port of Zirku in the United Arab Emirates. The South Loyalty, also a VLCC, made a similar U-turn and remained outside the strait on Monday, LSEG data showed. It was scheduled to load crude from Iraq's Basra terminal, according to Kpler data and two shipping sources. US urges China to dissuade Iran from closing Strait of Hormuz The Coswisdom Lake was scheduled to load crude at Zirku for delivery to China. It was chartered by Unipec, a trading arm of China's state-run Sinopec, LSEG and Kpler data showed. Sinopec did not immediately respond to a request for comment. No lingering Shipowners will try to minimise time that vessels spend inside the Strait of Hormuz due to the conflict, KY Lin, spokesperson at Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corp. 'Vessels will only enter the region when it is nearer to their loading time,' he said on Monday. Japanese shipping firms Nippon Yusen and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines said on Monday they continue to transit the strait but have instructed their vessels to minimise time spent in the Gulf. Iran's top security body to decide on Hormuz closure, Press TV reports Several oil traders and analysts told Reuters that they had been warned to expect possible shipping delays as vessels wait for their turn outside the area. Iran's parliament on Sunday approved a measure to close the strait, Iran's Press TV reported, but any such move would require approval from the Supreme National Security Council. Iran has threatened to close the strait in the past but has never done so.

Amazon's premium beauty push may be a buffer against Trump's tariffs
Amazon's premium beauty push may be a buffer against Trump's tariffs

Business Recorder

time7 hours ago

  • Business Recorder

Amazon's premium beauty push may be a buffer against Trump's tariffs

NEW YORK: Amazon's defense against tariffs for its coming Prime Day? Luxury goods. President Donald Trump's tariffs have spurred some Amazon sellers who source products from China and other heavily tariffed countries to bow out of the company's Prime Day, one of its biggest sales events of the year, to protect their margins. The Seattle-based e-commerce company is hoping that recent sales growth in high-margin cosmetics in its Amazon Premium Beauty category will cushion the impact of tariffs on Prime Day sales revenue and consumer sentiment. 'Beauty has become, in the past few years, more of an essential item in consumers' minds,' even in hard financial times, said Anna Mayo, vice president of NielsenIQ's Beauty Vertical unit. Amazon Premium Beauty was initially shunned by luxury cosmetic players who feared the platform would harm their image when it was launched in 2013. But those days are gone. Now, the online retailer is promoting products from top beauty and haircare brands including Estee Lauder's Clinique, Olaplex and L'Oreal's Urban Decay. During last year's Prime Day event, U.S. shoppers spent $14.2 billion, up 11% year-over-year, according to Adobe Analytics. Top cosmetics brands can charge high prices and often do not offer steep discounts on Prime Day compared with electronics, apparel and home goods. This year, Adobe Analytics expects beauty product discounts to have 'milder' discounts of 10% to 17%, whereas electronics deals are expected to range from 14% to 22% off, said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights. That, coupled with the ease of shipping small packages of most products, means that Amazon Premium Beauty merchandise has higher margins than other products sold on Prime Day. Amazon 'doesn't make a huge margin in most of the categories of stuff that it sells online,' said Renee Parker, co-founder of consultancy firm Invinci and a former Amazon executive. 'They are making a lot of money on premium beauty products because … (they're) small and expensive, and you can ship a ton of them.' Vitamins and supplements are successful for similar reasons. Amazon Premium Beauty sales gathered steam after the e-commerce giant began clamping down on counterfeits and top beauty companies needed new ways to reach customers, said Alfonso Emanuele de Leon, a beauty industry veteran and partner at FA Hong Kong Consultancy. Amazon was previously viewed as a pariah by luxury beauty brands because of the cheap merchandise on the website, but is no longer perceived that way, said Emanuele de Leon. 'Huge acceleration' Sales at Amazon Premium Beauty rose by nearly 20% to $15 billion between April 2024 and April 2025, outpacing the 14% growth for beauty products outside the specialized e-commerce store, according to NielsenIQ. It also outpaced the year-over-year growth of 5% for online store sales in the first quarter, NielsenIQ said. L'Oreal Chief Executive Nicolas Hieronimus said during the company's annual meeting in April that having products on Amazon led to a 'huge acceleration' in expanding its U.S. market share. Estee Lauder has launched 11 brands on Amazon's U.S. site since March 2024. More than 75% of Estee's finished goods sold in the U.S. originate from the U.S. or Canada and are therefore protected by existing trade agreements, Roberto Canevari, Estee Lauder's global supply chain executive vice president, said at a conference in June. Lauren Gordon, vice president of Amazon at Estee Lauder, said that Prime Day and Amazon's other 'high-traffic shopping moments' give the company a chance to 'attract both new and existing customers.' Melis del Rey, general manager for health and beauty for Amazon U.S. stores, said her team has been 'very proactive' in working with premium brands to determine tariff impacts. 'At a high level, most of the premium brands' sourcing strategies are local, and therefore, the (tariff) impact is less imminent,' del Rey said. Amazon Premium Beauty is an invite-only program for brands shipped and sold by Amazon and third-party sellers. The department has grown to more than 10,000 products, and brands' eligibility is determined on a case-by-case basis. Brands like Dyson and Estee Lauder's Aveda pay an extra 15% commission to Amazon for every website sale, and the third-party seller approach allows major brands to control pricing and inventory. Adding prestige brands including Unilever's Dermalogica has helped the company compete with beauty retailers Ulta Beauty and Sephora, which is owned by LVMH and also attract older, higher-income shoppers at a time when TikTok Shop is scooping up younger customers.

Palm rises for fourth straight session on firm crude, soft ringgit
Palm rises for fourth straight session on firm crude, soft ringgit

Business Recorder

time7 hours ago

  • Business Recorder

Palm rises for fourth straight session on firm crude, soft ringgit

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil futures ended higher after reversing earlier losses on Monday, as stronger crude oil prices and a softer ringgit supported the market while weaker rival Dalian oils capped the gains. The benchmark palm oil contract for September delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 7 ringgit, or 0.17%, to 4,125 ringgit ($961.09) a metric ton at the close. The contract has risen for four consecutive sessions. Higher crude oil prices during Asian hours limited the decline on palm prices despite weaker Dalian palm olein, a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said. 'The weaker ringgit also lent support to the market,' the trader added. Dalian's most-active soyoil contract fell 0.44%, while its palm oil contract shed 0.33%. Soyoil on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) added 0.59%. Palm subdued as strong crude oil, Chicago soyoil counter weak Dalian Palm oil tracks the price movements of rival edible oils as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market. Oil prices jumped to their highest since January as the United States' weekend move to join Israel in attacking Iran's nuclear facilities stoked supply concerns. Stronger crude oil futures make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock. The ringgit, palm's currency of trade, weakened 0.99% against the dollar, making the commodity cheaper for buyers holding foreign currencies.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store