Sumitomo buys 15% of Phinma cement unit
Japanese cement giant Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co. Ltd. has agreed to acquire 15 percent of Phinma group’s cement business, boosting the market positioning of legacy brand Union Cement.
Sumitomo Osaka, a leading cement manufacturing company in Japan with a more than a century of track record, will buy new shares of Philcement.
“The transaction is aligned with Philcement’s strategy and commitment to grow its manufacturing operations and provide Filipino consumers with reliable, high-quality supply of cement products under its legacy brand, Union Cement,” parent firm Phinma Corp. disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
The value of the deal, which will infuse new money into the local cement business, was not disclosed.
Aside from the new money, the entry of a Japanese equity partner is seen to give Philcement access to low-cost Japanese funding and opportunity to supply Japanese-backed infrastructure projects in the country.
The equity deal is expected to be closed before the end of the year, subject to the satisfaction of closing conditions.
Upon closing of the transaction, Phinma will remain the majority shareholder of Philcement with a 60-percent stake.
Incorporated in 2017, Philcement is engaged in the manufacture, importation, processing, distribution and sale of cement products. It currently has manufacturing operations in Bataan, Pampanga, Zamboanga del Norte and Davao.
Philcement marked Phinma group’s comeback to the cement business and revival of the old flagship brand Union Cement after a 14-year hiatus.
Union Cement had enjoyed market dominance and strong brand recognition for many years until Phinma sold the business to Holder Bank (now Holcim) in 2003.
To date, Philcement imports cement from its partner, The Vissai Group, the largest private cement manufacturing group in Vietnam.
In 2019, Phinma signed an agreement to invest $50 million in Song Lam Cement Joint Stock Company, the flagship plant of The Vissai. This cemented Philcement’s relationship with Viet Cement Terminal JSC, which is also a shareholder in Philcement.
Philcement is a registered enterprise at the Freeport Area of Bataan, where it operates a 7.8-hectare flagship cement processing complex.
The facility in Mariveles, Bataan, is considered to be the first state-of-the-art cement facility in the Philippines and one of the largest independent cement terminals globally. It has an initial annual capacity of 2 million metric tons of cement or 400,000 bags a day.
In October 2024, Philcement entered into a partnership with tycoon Henry Sy Jr.’s Big Boss Cement, Inc., allowing the former to manufacture, sell and distribute its Union Cement products using the Big Boss cement plant in Porac, Pampanga.
