Semapa sells Secil to Spanish company Cementos Molins for €1.4 billion
The Queiroz Pereira family holding company sells 100% of Secil to the Spanish aggregates, cement and concrete producer. The deal is expected to be completed by March 2026. Shares soar to 2018 highs.
Semapa signed a binding agreement on Friday to sell its entire stake in Secil, which employs 2,900 people, to Spanish company Cementos Molins.
The agreed transaction value represents an enterprise value of €1.4 billion, the group said in a statement sent to the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM).
In the same note, the Queiroz Pereira family holding company said that “the deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, subject to the usual conditions for this type of transaction”.
“Secil is part of Semapa’s origins and will always have a special place in our history. I would like to express my gratitude to the Secil team for their remarkable journey of transformation, growth and value creation in recent years”, said Ricardo Pires, CEO of Semapa.
This operation, he adds, represents a “strategic move” for Semapa, allowing it to “strengthen its investment capacity within the outlined portfolio diversification strategy”. The manager describes the new owners as “a major cement group with a global presence, also owned by a family with a long-term vision, which guarantees the company’s future development”.
This mega deal comes six months after Cementos Molins established itself in Portugal through the acquisition of the Portuguese company Concremat, located in the municipality of Pinhal Novo, in the district of Setúbal, which has two production centres, employs 110 people and has a turnover of €52 million.
At that time, in June, Marcos Cela, CEO of Molins, pointed out that “Portugal is an important market in southern Europe” and that Concremat brought with it “a solid track record, consolidated industrial capabilities and a corporate culture perfectly aligned” with the neighbouring country’s group.
This Friday, quoted in a statement, Marcos Cela speaks of an “important milestone in Molins’ strategy”, noting that Secil “brings a solid international presence and a strong culture, rooted in its family industrial heritage”.
“Combining our strengths will enable us to grow with a more diversified and resilient profile, while reinforcing our commitment to sustainability. Together, we will expand our offering of high-value, circular and low-carbon solutions to our customers, creating new opportunities for our people”, he says.
Following the announcement of the agreement, Semapa shares are soaring 25% this Friday morning on the Lisbon stock exchange, rising to €21.25 each. The company’s shares thus exceed the highs of 18 June 2018, when they closed at €21.2.
Secil’s profits cushion decline in paper
Founded in 1930, Secil is one of Portugal’s leading cement companies, with a total of eight factories, including three in Portugal (Outão, Maceiras and Pataias) and an annual production capacity of 10 million tonnes of cement.
Between January and September, Secil’s profits amounted to €52.3 million, 30.7% above the figure for the same period last year, helping to cushion the fall in the holding company’s profits caused by the pulp and paper business (Navigator).
In the first nine months of the year, Secil’s turnover increased by 7.2% year-on-year to €564.1 million. EBITDA totalled €140.4 million after an 18.4% increase, with the respective margin standing at 24.9%, 2.4 percentage points above the previous year.
In Semapa’s most recent accounts, Secil also stood out in terms of investment in fixed assets due to the nearly €50 million invested by the cement and other construction materials manufacturer in the Maceira factory (ProFuture), with a view to increasing energy efficiency in cement operations in Portugal.
