Swiss firm buys into
TCL
By Curtis Rampersad, Trinidad
Express Newspaper
Thursday, November 18th 2004
Two years after a Mexican cement
giant narrowly lost out in its bid to take over local producer
Trinidad Cement Ltd, a foreign buyer has snapped up a huge
eight per cent stake in the Claxton Bay firm.
A Switzerland-based investment
company bought 21.14 million TCL shares in a stock market
transaction worth more than $153 million during trading
on the Exchange in Port of Spain yesterday. Market sources
confirmed the shares had been sold by three powerful groups-Neal
and Massy Holdings, Associated Brands Ltd and Guardian Holdings/RBTT
Financial.
The shares were traded at $7.25.
Following the sale crossing the
floor of the Exchange, there were immediate concerns that
Mexican cement producer Cemex might be gearing up to acquire
TCL once again.
But a source said to be close
to the buyers said that Cemex was not involved.
Another industry source speculated
that the Swiss firm had bought the TCL stock because it
was interested in buying into strong companies in emerging
markets.
In July, 2002, Cemex was narrowly
blocked in its bid to take over TCL when 1,500 minority
local shareholders kept Cemex at bay by voting against the
removal of a restrictive clause in TCL‘s Articles
of Continuance.
Cemex, which owns 20 per cent
of TCL, had requested a special shareholders meeting to
remove a restriction which prevented it from acquiring more
TCL stock.
Lok Jack, who sits as chairman
of Associated Brand (his own company) as well as chairman
of Guardian Holdings, was a former TCL director who was
removed from the Board a couple of years ago.
He supported the idea of a foreign
company buying into a local firm since local companies were
allowed to invest outside Trinidad and Tobago.
Lok Jack is said to be out of
the country until Saturday and could not be immediately
reached for comment yesterday.
The TCL transaction dominated
activity on the market, helping the market to post the largest
volume of shares traded for the year.
