Company Briefs

PPC gets LafargeHolcim approachSouth Africa's biggest cement producer PPC said it had received an expression of interest from LafargeHolcim which is planning a combination of some of its African assets.PPC, which has operations in six countries in Africa, has previously received interest for its assets from other bidders looking to expand in the region.Dangote Cement said last week it was still interested in acquiring PPC and would do a deal at the right price. – Nampa/ReutersMSCI keeps Nigeria in frontier indexesIndex provider MSCI said Nigerian stocks will remain part of its frontier indexes and are no longer under review for a possible demotion - a status which the securities had been under since September 2016 after the government introduced capital controls."The market will be removed from the review list for potential reclassification to Standalone status," MSCI said in a statement posted on its website, adding that the central bank's introduction of a new foreign exchange window in April had improved the situation for foreign investors."Market participants have indicated that since the establishment of this Window, funds can be repatriated at close to the official rate. Concerns on the spreads and delays which investors have earlier experienced have also eased." – Nampa/ReutersScrapped dividend crush Mattel sharesShares of Mattel Inc were set to open at their lowest since the 2008 financial crisis on Friday after the Barbie maker suspended its dividend and warned it would miss forecasts for revenue this year.The toymaker was the second in a week to report trouble with existing plans from the bankruptcy of major retailer Toys'R'Us and analysts said Mattel's streak of sales declines could now persist into 2018.Performance across top brands Barbie, Fisher-Price and Monster High was much worse than most had expected, putting more pressure on management after sales have declined in four of the past six quarters.New CEO Margo Georgiadis has already embarked on a turnaround plan that has seen the departure of many top-level executives as well as cost cuts. – Nampa/ReutersDangote Cement mulls Eurobond issueNigeria's Dangote Cement is considering a Eurobond or a local debt issue and will make a decision towards the end of the year.CFO Brian Egan said 70% of its 389 billion naira (US$1.2 billion) debt was short term and from its parent firm, Dangote Industries Limited, and the company wanted to move away from that.He said the company, majority owned by Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote, was probably leaning towards a eurobond given that yields were falling and the naira currency was stablising. – Nampa/AFPCoca-Cola to invest millions in KenyaCoca-Cola Co plans to invest up to US$90 million in Kenya over the three years through 2018 to increase its product range in the region's biggest economy.Coca-Cola, which is the leader in the Kenyan soda market with brands like Coke and Fanta, has committed to invest US$17 billion in Africa as a whole since 2014, double what was invested in the continent a decade before, the company said.The group, which faces growing competition in Kenya from other soft drinks producers like SABmiller and PepsiCo it will produce a wider range of soft drinks in the country from 2018 but did not give details. – Nampa/AFPStandard Chartered sells stake KamosoStandard Chartered Private Equity has sold its stake in a Botswana retail and consumer goods company Kamoso Distribution to a consortium led by Investec Asset Management Private Equity, RMB Ventures, local partners and senior management.Kamoso was mostly a supplier to Botswana's largest budget retail chain, Choppies Enterprises, before StanChart PE and New York investment firm Development Capital Partners (DCP) bought a 72% stake in 2015 and expanded operations. – Nampa/AFPApple says iPhone X pre-orders ‘off the charts’Apple Inc quashed concerns of muted demand for its iPhone X, saying pre-orders forthe 10th anniversary phone were "off the charts".The company's shares, which have fallen steadily since it announced in early September it would launch two iPhones within two months, rose nearly 3% in response.Pre-orders for the much-anticipated 10th anniversary phone started on Friday.IPhone X's launch follows weeks of concerns among analysts about the production of the new phone, which for the first time includes new facial identification software to replace the fingerprint used on previous phones. – Nampa/Reuters

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