The latest Investing Matters Podcast episode with London Stock Exchange Group's Chris Mayo has just been released. Listen here.
MMM have just announced that CalPortland are the buyers for the Lehigh West cement & ready-mix operations that they had put up for sale. It's pleasing that this has happened so quickly, in case our deal is in any way waiting on large deals like this to be resolved.
https://ir.martinmarietta.com/news-releases/news-release-details/martin-marietta-sell-certain-west-coast-cement-and-ready-mixed
Perhaps CalPortland could now use a source of high quality pozzolan to complement their new purchases?
(See earlier posts in this thread for background.)
Posted by lawn91 on advfn :
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-24/ubs-triggers-margin-calls-as-it-cuts-russia-bond-values-to-zero
https://www.yellowcakeplc.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Yellow-Cake-Investor-Presentation-February-2022_Final.pdf
NAV/share on 15 Feb was 336p, based on U at $43.25/lb.
Sorry, I should have said 'stream' not 'royalty'.
Presentation:
https://www.sandstormgold.com/_resources/presentations/Sandstorm-Q4-Results-Presentation.pdf
HM now converted to royalty. Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4xYrdDrdZQ
Many thanks, chique.
https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/ideas/2022/02/17/2021-bargain-shares-portfolio-review/
(If not a subscriber, try going there via google "2021 Bargain Shares Portfolio Review".)
Skeletor, I read it that way too, though we're generally targeting those with a weak interferon response regardless of variant.
(BTW I found this clarification helpful:
https://www.medicinenet.com/antagonist/definition.htm
)
MMM did provide a bit more clarification in their conference call about what they're up to in California. They're keeping the aggregates business but probably selling the cement/ready-mix assets which include 2 cement plants:
"Consistent with our SOAR 2025 priorities, we continually look for ways to optimize our portfolio through asset swaps and divestitures. To that end, following the closing of the Lehigh Hanson West acquisition, we received expressions of interest in the California based cement and concrete operations. As we focus on the product mix of our business to enhance value for our shareholders, we're currently evaluating alternatives for these operations and have classified these assets as held-for-sale. We anticipate providing more clarity regarding our plans for these assets during the first half of 2022."
Perhaps a buyer might see an opportunity to combine them with CS, creating a whole worth more than the sum of the parts. Downside would obviously be risk of more delays.
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4486060-martin-marietta-materials-inc-mlm-ceo-ward-nye-on-q4-2021-results-earnings-call-transcript
Sneaky tip: If you're not registered you may still be able to grab the content on a PC using ctrl-A ctrl-C then paste into a document.
It was a calculation I did back in August. It was an extrapolation from the Boral/Kirkland deal, with the idea that many of the unknowns should then cancel out. A few notes:
1. It was for CS only, ignoring the rest of the SRES assets
2. It was assuming a buyout (possibly with royalty element) of CS, whereas we now know it will more likely be a joint venture. For the buyout, I guessed the CRMC would pay 25% of the "true" (ie DCF) value - slightly better than the Kirkland deal. A JV will probably give higher ultimate value, but this may take longer to be realised.
3. I assumed a pozzolan selling price of $110, it should be a bit more by now.
4. Not everyone agreed with it :-)
https://www.lse.co.uk/terms-and-conditions.html
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You agree that you will:
...
not post or otherwise publish any content unrelated to the Forum or the Forum's topic.
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& yes I do know I'm now technically violating that ;-)
I see that the aforementioned deal was completed yesterday :
https://concreteproducts.com/index.php/2022/02/11/eco-material-technologies-launches-uniting-boral-resources-green-cement/
The new company "Eco Material Technologies Inc" has combined the Boral fly-ash/pozzolan business with a Texas based company, "Green Cement Inc". ( https://greencement.com/ )
It will be interesting to see if Eco now push ahead with the Kirkland pozzolan mine. If so, they may get some competition from these guys, just 100km away:
https://drakeus.com/operations-to-begin-at-williams-pozzolan-mine/
Both are about 600km south of CS (as the crow flies) so hopefully not too threatening for us. Still, they may have been a factor in PC's decision to look north rather than south for future pozzolan projects (Hazen).
CORRECTION: More careful research shows that the Permanente cement plant and quarry was specifically excluded from the sale of the Lehigh West area to MMM - perhaps because of its controversial status? So it still belongs to Heidelberg Cement.
https://www.heidelbergcement.com/en/pr-24-05-2021
For anyone interested, a follow-up on the statement from MMM yesterday, with it's reference to "discontinued operations", which seemed surprising in the current climate. Various very recent news articles may clarify what this is about, e.g.
https://sanjosespotlight.com/santa-clara-county-could-commandeer-controversial-lehigh-permanente-cement-plant-quarry-property/
On the positive side, if limestone quarries in our area are closing, this can only add to the pressure to source alternative materials.
On the other hand, I now hope it isn't MMM/LeHigh that we're dealing with, as this uncertainty would just add to delays.
Like Dubliner, I now see Cemex as the most likely CRMC we're dealing with. I have Holcim as a close second, then MMM. Beyond that it's just down to a few long-shots. Did you know Mitsubishi produces cement in our area?!
https://www.mmc.co.jp/corporate/en/business/cement/
"In North America, we operate a cement plant in the state of California. There, we have created a vertically integrated system spanning cement manufacturing, ready-mixed concrete and the aggregate business."
The MMM Q4 Results do contain something new (to me anyway) and potentially relevant. I was assuming they'd keep all the Lehigh West assets acquired from Heidelberg Cement, but apparently not:
"As previously announced, on October 1, 2021, the Company completed the acquisition of Lehigh Hanson, Inc.’s West Region business (“Lehigh West Region”), which included a portfolio of 17 active aggregates quarries, two cement plants with related distribution terminals, and targeted downstream operations, predominantly in California and Arizona. Lehigh West Region’s aggregates, asphalt and Arizona ready mixed concrete businesses are reported within the Company’s West Group. The remainder of the Lehigh West Region’s operations, namely the cement and California ready mixed concrete businesses, are classified as assets held for sale/discontinued operations. The Company is actively exploring strategic alternatives for these businesses."
https://ir.martinmarietta.com/static-files/8b1b1589-fc0f-4595-ab46-8919b76b86e3
After a quick scan through the Cemex Q4 Results, I can't find any earth-shattering revelations about pozzolan deals. Just similar positive stuff to what we've seen before, e.g. Presentation Slide 11:
"
Optimize portfolio for growth: Robust pipeline across core businesses and supporting CO2 agenda
~$900 M bolt-on investments to be deployed in 2022 and beyond
"
https://www.cemex.com/investors/reports/home
As it's so quiet here, I'll just mention that both Cemex and Martin Marietta Materials are scheduled to release their Q4 results on Thursday (10th), with the usual accompanying presentations, conference calls, etc.
I suppose it would be over-optimistic to hope that one of them might want to announce a new deal at the same time...
For those following what Cemex are up to, this podcast is worth a quick listen from 25:50 onwards:
https://www.propertyweek.com/analysis-resi-and-data/new-technology-makes-net-zero-concrete-viable-says-head-of-cemex-ventures/5118681.article