Swiss cement maker Holcim (HOLN.VX) said on Tuesday it expected to have selected buyers for assets it must divest to push through its merger with France's Lafarge LAPF.PA by the end of January.
The mooted merger with Lafarge will create the world's largest cement group with over $40 billion in annual sales, but the deal is to be accompanied by billions of dollars worth of asset disposals in order to secure regulatory approval worldwide.
Holcim expects to sign agreements for these sales by the end of January, the company said in slides that were posted on its website ahead of a presentation to be delivered by Chief Executive Bernard Fontana at an investor day event in Zurich.
Holcim's Chief Financial Officer Thomas Aebischer said this month that the company had received more than 60 bids by a Oct. 20 deadline to submit non-binding offers.
In the slides, the company said it had received competition clearance for the planned merger from seven jurisdictions, and that other clearances were expected between end-November and end-February. It is waiting on approval from 13 other jurisdictions, including the European Union.
The Jona-based company reaffirmed that it expected to complete the merger within the first six months of 2015.
In a separate statement released ahead of the investor event, Holcim said it expected 2015 to be "a solid year" with operating profit excluding costs related to the merger of between 2.7 billion and 2.9 billion Swiss francs ($2.8 billion-$3 billion).
Holcim said it would conclude its expansion strategy in 2015, allowing it to reduce its capital expenditure to 1.5 billion francs next year.
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