Voto Swoops in on Cimpor Stakes

Votorantim Cimentos has struck an agreement with Lafarge to purchase its 17.8% stake in Cimpor through a share swap. In addition, Voto says it has arrived at a shareholders agreement with Caixa Geral de Depositos, the Portuguese bank that owns 9.6% of Cimpor, to act together, essentially forming a bloc. While the move does not completely scupper attempts by CSN and Camargo Correa to strike deals with Cimpor, it is a substantial victory for Voto. The latter quietly stood by in the month and a half since CSN made first announced its intention to acquire Cimpor shares at EUR5.75 apiece in December. CSN is offering to purchase up to all of Cimpor’s 672m shares through a public tender, a move that has been twice rejected by Cimpor’s board. Camargo meanwhile offered to merge its operations with Cimpor. However, it retracted its bid last week, citing procedural reasons linked with the public bidding process in Portugal. Camargo has stated that it has not given up its pursuit of a deal with Cimpor. CSN says its public tender process will continue unaltered by the news. Voto says it hired Deutsche Bank in 2008 to eye strategic options and internationalization. CSN is advised by BES, and Credit Suisse and BofA-Merrill are advising Camargo.