West China Cement, the Hong Kong-listed Chinese cement producer, said its subsidiary had agreed on 2 April to acquire AfriSam Holdings, one of South Africa's main cement and aggregates producers, for an acquisition price of R2.5bn.
Why West China Cement Limited is buying AfriSam Holdings Proprietary Limited
West China Cement said it was optimistic about long-term cement demand in South Africa given infrastructure investment and population growth, and that owning AfriSam, one of the top players in the market, would expand its regional position using its own technology, management and cost advantages.
Deal terms and financing
The purchaser will buy all 99,995,000 AfriSam shares from shareholders including RMB Investments and Advisory (33.02%), Nedbank (17.51%), Absa (13%), Standard Bank (12.01%), Old Mutual and Ninety One. Part of the price is payable at closing and the rest in 12 quarterly instalments. It will also subscribe for new AfriSam shares to cover the settlement of AfriSam's term facility and transaction costs, with maximum total consideration put at R2.5bn, or about US$145m.
Regulatory approvals and timing
Conditions include clearance by South Africa's competition authorities, approval under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act and Takeover Regulation Panel compliance. TimesLive reported in May 2026 that the Competition Commission had approved the bid, while rival PPC raised concerns about imports from Mozambique. No completion had been announced by October 2026.
Market context
AfriSam concluded a balance sheet restructuring through a debt-to-equity conversion on 1 July 2025, and its sellers are mainly South African banks, insurers and asset managers. It reported an unaudited net profit after tax of R27.1m for 2025, after a loss of R196.4m in 2024.
