Argos acquired a stake of 60 percent in Wetvan Overseas, a company that controls a terminal for the reception, storage, sale and distribution of cement in Puerto Rico, for an amount of more than $18 million. Thanks to this transaction, Argos will see its annual production capacity rise by 250,000 metric tons, ensuring a local market share of about 15 percent in Puerto Rico.
It also strategically fits in with the company’s latest acquisitions and existing operations, by including new markets in what the organization has defined as its strategic region and by creating significant synergies.
“With this transaction, we are entering a new market that is closely tied to the U.S. economy, that currently consumes close to 650,000 tons of cement per year and whose growth perspectives are being driven by the latent recovery in this latter country and the new laws aimed at stimulating investment in Puerto Rico. The acquisition strengthens our position as leader in the region,” Jorge Mario Velásquez, Argos’ CEO, explained.
With this new operation, Argos, besides consolidating its leadership in the Caribbean region, continues to strengthen its expansion strategy by increasing its presence in the Americas, in which it now has operations in Antigua, Colombia, Curacao, Dominica, the United States, Haiti, Honduras, French Guiana, Panama, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Saint Martin, Saint Thomas and Suriname.
The sellers, which kept a stake of 40 percent of the capital stock, are companies managed by Putney Capital Management, an asset management firm that administrates the energy and industry portfolio of Vicini, a renowned Dominican business group that has investments all over the Caribbean and Central America.
