Huaxin Building Materials Group plans to acquire a 99.99 per cent stake in CSN Cimentos, Brazil’s second-largest cement producer. According to a company statement, this landmark deal will mark China’s first entry into the Brazilian cement market.
The company from central China’s Hubei province, which is listed in both Shanghai and Hong Kong, reached a share purchase agreement with CSN Cimentos on Saturday. Exchange filings submitted on Sunday valued the deal at US$1.64 billion.
CSN Cimentos is the cement arm of the Brazilian steel giant Companhia Siderurgica Nacional. Filings showed that the firm operates seven kilns and six grinding stations with an annual cement capacity of 17 million tonnes, representing a roughly 21 per cent share of the Brazilian market. The Brazilian firm holds around 2.2 billion tonnes of limestone reserves and primarily supplies Brazil’s key northeastern and southeastern markets. The filings stated that its capacity, technical and operational performance are all above the industry average.
The company statement noted that the transaction would not constitute a major asset reorganisation and remained subject to regulatory approval in China and Brazil. Once the acquisition closes, CSN Cimentos will become a controlled subsidiary of Huaxin Building Materials, and its financial results will be consolidated into the group’s.
The statement reported that Brazil’s cement demand has held steady at above 62 million tonnes since 2022 as the country’s economic recovery continued. For more than a decade, Huaxin Building Materials has made overseas projects and acquisitions a core strategic priority. The company said the deal marked a major step in its push to diversify its overseas footprint and tap into promising emerging markets.
Huaxin Building Materials said the move aligned with national policies encouraging listed companies to focus on their core businesses, sector consolidation and equity incentive programmes amid structural shifts in China’s building-materials demand.
