May 4, 2016, Seoul – Baring Private Equity Asia (“Baring Asia”) today announced that it has completed a transaction alongside Glenwood Private Equity (“Glenwood”) to acquire Lafarge Halla Cement Corporation (“Halla Cement” or the “Company”). Halla Cement is one of the largest cement producers in Korea, and was previously wholly-owned by building materials producer LafargeHolcim. Baring Asia and Glenwood will acquire 100% of the Company from LafargeHolcim. Following the acquisition, the Company will be rebranded as Halla Cement to reflect its independence from the Lafarge Holcim group of companies.

Baring Asia has previous experience working with LafargeHolcim having also invested in Lafarge India in 2013.

Halla Cement is one of South Korea’s leading cement producers with around 500 employees. It operates one integrated cement plant with an annual cement capacity of 9.0 million tons, and distributes OPC, clinker, slag cement and slag powder that it sources from its extensive mineral reserves. The Company has a distribution network across the country and possesses the unique competitive advantage of owning a coastal plant with its own port facilities providing access to cost competitive coastal transportation links.

Commenting on the acquisition, Jong Goo Moon, CEO of Halla Cement, said, “We are excited to be partnering with Baring Asia on this next step in our journey. The Baring Asia team impressed us with their knowledge and experience within the cement industry, and we have confidence in their ability to support our growth in the future. The industry in Korea is seeing a period of strong demand and we expect that to continue in the medium- to long-term, so we are looking forward to capitalizing on this as an independent company.”

Korea’s consumption of cement per capita is among the highest in the world relative to its GDP per capita, and exceeded 49 million tons per annum in 2015 – the highest annual shipment volume since 2008.

Han Chul Kim, Managing Director of Baring Asia, commented: “Halla Cement is a leading cement player with operational and technical capabilities on par with global standards – something you would expect having been part of a highly respected group such as LafargeHolcim. We couldn’t imagine a more solid platform from which to access the growth opportunities in the Korean market in the coming years.”

J.P. Morgan and White & Case advised Baring Private Equity Asia.

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