Cement manufacturer Cimerwa Plc has completed the acquisition of Prime Cement Ltd. Cimerwa, a publicly listed company, sent notice to the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE) informing the regulator that it concluded the transaction on July 18, 2024.

Cimerwa said in a statement that the purchase of Prime Cement’s assets was an ‘off-market transaction.’ This implies that the firm negotiated a private deal directly with Prime Cement.

"Under this agreement, CIMERWA Plc will acquire all assets of PRIME CEMENT Ltd thereby committing to ensuring cement sovereignty in Rwanda,” the statement, signed by the company’s Executive Director Rajasekhar Naidu, reads in part.

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Cimerwa said it will acquire all operational assets of Prime Cement, while the government retains ownership of any outstanding liabilities.

"We believe that this acquisition will significantly enhance our company's capabilities and market position, ultimately benefiting our shareholders and stakeholders,” the firm said.

Cimerwa is the largest and oldest producer of cement in the country. Until last year, 51 per cent of the company’s shareholding was controlled by South African cement producer Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) with the rest of shareholding owned by the government.

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In January this year, Cimerwa definitively sold 99.94 per cent of its shareholding at a tune of $85 million to the National Cement Holdings, a cement producer owned by Kenyan billionaire industrialist Narendra Raval.

Prime Cement, on the other hand, started operations in Rwanda in 2020, breaking the monopoly that Cimerwa had enjoyed for decades.

However, the company has reportedly struggled to capture the market, especially after the entry of another cement manufacturer, AnJia Prefabricated Construction Rwanda Company Ltd.