(Ecofin Agency) - The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday, announced that a foreign investor has increased its stakes in Dangote Cement with the acquisition of an additional 2.3% interest for N86.1 billion ($236 million). Although the Lagos bourse did not disclose the name of the foreign investor, sources with knowledge of the transaction said the stake was bought by one of the existing investors in the company.

This is the third time foreign investors are buying stakes in Dangote Cement. It should be recalled that in 2013, Dangote Industries sold 1.5% of its 95% stake in the firm to South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation (PIC) for $289.3 million. A year after, it sold another 1.4% stake to Dubai’s Sovereign Fund Investment Corp (ICD) for $300 million. The new development, however, saw the share price of the cement company rise by 7.26% in yesterday’s trading, to close at N240 per share.

Dangote Cement is the largest company on the NSE, accounting for a third of the bourse's total market capitalization. Last month, the company announced plans to invest about $4 billion over the next two to three years, to increase its production capacity to 80 million tonnes in Africa.

Anita Fatunji