Heidelberzement controller of 26% in Vassiliko Cement Works

Cyprus’s Vassiliko Cement Works Plc Ltd said Germany’s cement producer HeidelbergCement AG is in control of almost 26 per cent of voting rights after it acquired a controlling stake in two of its major shareholders.

HeidelbergCement acquired 21.5 per cent of Italy’s Italcimenti S.p.A directly on Friday July 1, and an almost 24 per cent stake in Italcimenti indirectly, via its unit Heidelbergcement France S.A.S., Vassiliko said in a statement on Stock Exchange website.

Heidelbergcement directly and indirectly owns 45.5 per cent of Italcimenti, which in turn is the owner of of Compagnie Financiere et de Participations and Italmed Cement Company, that own 9.7 per cent and 16.3 per cent of Vasiliko shares.

A spokesperson at Vassiliko said that the Cypriot cement producer is not expecting that the acquisition will change the company’s strategy as Heidelbergcement happens to be one of its three major shareholders.

According to Vassiliko’s 2015 annual report, the Church of Cyprus is directly or indirectly in control of 26 per cent of Vassiliko while the Cyprus Cement Public Company Ltd owns 25.3 per cent.