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Cemex Gets Australian Regulatory Approval for Rinker Takeover

Mar, 08 2007

Cemex Gets Australian Regulatory Approval for Rinker Takeover (Bloomberg) -- Cemex SA, the world's third-largest cement maker, said Australian regulators cleared its $11.7 billion hostile takeover bid for Rinker Group Ltd. Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board, which assesses proposals by foreign companies to invest in the nation, has approved the bid, the Monterrey, Mexico-based company said in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange today. Cemex has offered $13 a share for Sydney-based Rinker, which it has targeted for its businesses in Florida, Arizona and Nevada. The deal would make it the world's biggest cement maker. Shareholders of Rinker including Perpetual Investments, which has a stake large enough to block the deal, have said the offer is too low. Shares of Rinker rose 2 Australian cents to A$19.03 ($14.78) in Sydney today. They have gained 37 percent since Cemex made its unsolicited bid in October. The Mexican company is still waiting for antitrust approval in the U.S., where regulators on Nov. 30 asked for more details before being able to make a ruling on the proposed deal. The Department of Justice's request for information was an indication Cemex may have to sell some assets in Arizona and Florida, where both companies have strong positions, according to Andrew Dale, an analyst at Macquarie Bank Ltd. in Sydney. The regulators intervened in Cemex's takeover of Britain's RMC Group Plc for 2.3 billion pounds ($4.5 billion) in 2005, allowing the purchase only on condition it sold RMC's ready-mix concrete operations in Tucson, Arizona, within six months to Cemex is advised by Citigroup Inc. UBS AG is assisting Rinker on its defense. To contact the reporter on this story: Miriam Steffens in Sydney at msteffens1@bloomberg.net