Senate Probes Lafarge Africa Over Planned Sale of Majority Shares

The Nigerian Senate has summoned Lafarge Africa Plc to explain its reported plan to sell off 83.8% of its shares, a move that has sparked concerns about foreign dominance in Nigeria’s important cement industry. The Senate’s decision, made on March 27, 2025, follows reports that Lafarge’s Swiss parent company, Holcim Group, is considering selling its controlling stake to Chinese investors. This has raised fears about foreign control of a key sector in Nigeria’s economy.

To investigate the matter, the Senate Committee on Capital Market, led by Senator Osita Izunaso, held a meeting with top regulatory agencies including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC). At the meeting, the SEC clarified that it had not received any official application regarding the sale of Lafarge Africa to Chinese companies. Mr. Abdulkafir Abbas, who represented the SEC Director General, stated that what the Commission is aware of is an internal restructuring within the Holcim Group. He explained that 27.77% of Lafarge Africa’s shares, previously held by Associated International Cement Ltd, were transferred to another Holcim-owned company called Davis Peak Holdings Ltd. This, he said, did not change the real ownership of the company.

The BPE also calmed fears about Nigerian investors losing their stake in Lafarge. According to Satura Bello, Director of Post Transaction at BPE, the 16.19% shares owned by Nigerian citizens remain untouched. She stressed that the shares being discussed are from Lafarge’s foreign parent companies and not from the local ownership secured during Nigeria’s cement sector privatization in the early 2000s The FCCPC confirmed that it had received a merger notification in December 2024 involving two Chinese companies: Hainan Huaxin Pan-African Investment Co. Ltd and Huaxin (Hong Kong) International Holdings Ltd—subsidiaries of Huaxin Cement Co. Ltd of China. The deal involves the indirect purchase of Lafarge Africa’s majority stake through foreign holding companies Caricement B.V and Davis Peak Holdings Ltd. However, the FCCPC made it clear that the deal is a foreign-to-foreign transaction and does not directly affect Lafarge Africa’s Nigerian operations. They also said that the merger won’t disrupt the competitive balance in Nigeria’s cement market and that no new foreign control is being introduced, just a change from one foreign owner to another.

To address concerns from employees, the FCCPC confirmed that the Chinese firms promised that no jobs will be lost as a result of the transaction. Still, the Senate is being cautious. The Committee has instructed its Clerk to contact the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to check Lafarge’s Articles of Association and find out if such a large divestment can happen without national consultation or approval. Senator Izunaso made it clear that Nigeria must protect its strategic assets. “We must remain vigilant and ensure that such critical assets do not slip out of our regulatory radar. The interest of the Nigerian people must remain paramount,” he said. Lafarge Africa Plc is expected to appear before the Senate Committee soon to provide more details and answer questions about transparency, public interest, and the company’s future in Nigeria.