FIJIAN Holdings Limited (FHL) announced that its joint-venture partner in Pacific Cement Limited (PCL), South Pacific Cement Ltd, has sold its 47 per cent shareholding to Vinod Patel Group.
Following this change, PCL will be owned by FHL (51 per cent), Vinod Patel (47 per cent) and the rest of the shares were owned publicly.
PCL is a publicly unlisted company and former shareholder, South Pacific Cement Ltd, is a joint venture between Holcim NZ Ltd and Fletcher Building Ltd.
FHL Group chairman Iowane Naiveli said Vinod Patel Group had become a strategic partner for FHL in the building and construction sector.
“Vinod Patel already owns 49 per cent of Basic Industries Ltd, which they acquired in 2013. We are confident that this new partnership will contribute to achieving growth and expansion,” Mr Naiveli said in a statement.
PCL was the first cement manufacturer in the country under their brand name, Pacific Cement.
Since 1997, Pacific Cement Ltd has been a joint venture between FHL and South Pacific Cement Ltd, who decided to divest their stake in PCL in 2010. FHL waived its pre-emptive rights.
Group CEO Nouzab Fareed said Vinod Patel was not new to FHL Group.
During the financial year ending June 2014, FHL said, PCL exported more than 37 per cent of its production to Pacific cement countries including NZ.
It said PCL also had the capacity to manufacture about 200,000 metric tonnes of cement.
