Cement giant Holcim exits PH after China’s Huaxin acquisition deal
MANILA, Philippines — Holcim Group is set to leave the Philippine cement market after striking a deal to sell its local unit to China’s Huaxin Building Materials for roughly $807 million, the Swiss-based company confirmed on Sunday.
The sale will unfold in two phases. Huaxin, based in Wuhan, will first acquire a 67.623-percent majority stake for $527 million. Holcim will then divest its remaining stake — about 31 percent — over the following three to five years, for no less than $280 million. Holcim noted this second tranche could still climb higher “based on incremental value creation during this period.”
Regulators still need to sign off on the transaction, with the majority-stake sale expected to close in the first half of 2027.
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“Huaxin is a strategic and trusted partner and best positioned to further grow our business in the Philippines for the long-term,” said Holcim Philippines chief executive Mohit Kapoor. He added that the company’s market position and growth potential remain strong, and that Huaxin is committed to investing further as part of its own international expansion strategy.
A major exit
The deal closes the Philippine chapter for one of the country’s largest cement producers. Holcim’s local operations span four cement plants, a grinding mill, five ports, and a nationwide distribution network, with combined annual production capacity of 10 million metric tons.
Its Luzon footprint includes two integrated cement plants, a separate grinding plant, and a dry-mix facility, while its Mindanao operations consist of two more integrated plants.
Financial pressure ahead of the sale
Holcim Philippines’ 2025 revenues edged up to P22 billion from P21.9 billion the year before, helped by stronger cement sales. But profitability moved the opposite direction — the company’s net loss before tax widened sharply to P4.2 billion, from P1 billion in 2024.
Cash flow also weakened considerably. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) fell to negative P1.2 billion, a 302.1-percent decline year-on-year.
Background: the 2023 delisting
Holcim Philippines voluntarily delisted from the Philippine Stock Exchange in 2023, after its parent entity, Holderfin B.V., bought an additional 594.95 million common shares — equivalent to 9.22 percent of outstanding capital stock — from Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co. That purchase pushed Holcim’s public float down to just 5.05 percent, below the threshold required for listed companies, triggering the delisting.
Holcim Group remains a global player despite the Philippine exit, with operations spanning 45 countries across Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, and a workforce of more than 50,000. /Logan Kal-El Zapanta
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