International Cement cancels US$104.4m deal to buy African cement producer

INTERNATIONAL Cement Group (ICG) has called off its proposed US$104.4 million purchase of African cement producer Schwenk Namibia, the watch-listed cement producer said in a bourse filing on Monday.

The deal, which was first announced in March this year, was terminated on Sept 27, 2019.

ICG had previously extended the deal's long stop date by six months to Jan 31, 2020 from July 31, 2019, to fulfil the deal's closing conditions.

The extension came after the Singapore Exchange (SGX) rejected the acquisition bid in June as Schwenk was not profitable and ICG did not have sufficient cash to pay for the deal. SGX had also ordered ICG to commission pre-deal anti-money laundering due diligence on the source of funds for any future major transactions or very substantial acquisitions.

ICG shares closed down S$0.003 or 12.5 per cent to S$0.021 on Friday.