Dangote Cement shares trade in $350 mln off-market deal -traders

Some 550 million shares of Dangote Cement were sold at 225.7 naira each on Monday in a one-off stock market deal valued at $350 million, traders said.
Traders said it was negotiated in a deal between seller Meristem Stockbrokers Ltd and buyer CSL Stockbrokers Ltd. Dangote Cement’s shares last trading price was 238.99 naira by market close.
The stock fell 4.17 percent on Monday.
Africa’s biggest cement maker - which is owned by the continent’s richest man Aliko Dangote - has been selling small stakes to increase its free float, which is well below the Nigerian stock exchange’s required level.
The cement maker sold 128.5 million shares at 210 naira each last month. And in August, it sold a 2.3 percent stake to foreign investors in a deal valued at 86.1 billion naira.
It is the biggest company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, accounting for a third of total market capitalisation. The bourse waived its free float requirement when it listed in 2010 in a bid to encourage more companies to list.