Belgian limestone leader Carmeuse has launched a $505 million bid for Chile’s Cementos Bío Bío, securing agreements from shareholders holding 64.6% of shares. The move, via Carmel Holding, aims to strengthen Carmeuse’s footprint in the global cement market.
Via its Chilean subsidiary Carmel Holding, Carmeuse has tabled an offer of $1.911 per share on all publicly traded Cementos Bío Bío shares listed on the Santiago stock exchange. This price slightly tops the $1.89 per share bid from US-based Mississippi Lime last year. With backing from five major shareholders – including the founding Briones family’s Inversiones Cementeras – Carmeuse already controls 64.6% of the company and aims to secure at least 66.7% through a mandatory public tender due by 13 August.
Cementos Bío Bío generated revenues of 368 billion Chilean peso (€328 million) in 2024, selling 1.2 million tonnes of cement and producing concrete and lime, with a net profit of 32.4 billion peso (€28.8 million). Carmeuse, founded in 1859 and still family-run, posted a record €200.3 million group profit last year on revenues of €1.96 billion and held €216 million in cash. The deal marks one of the largest Belgian cross-border acquisitions this year, following KBC’s purchase of 365.bank and Ageas’s bid for Esure. If completed, it will extend Carmeuse’s global presence across 100 sites in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia.
