Cemex Confirms Sale Of Assets Under Venezuela Unit

Cemex (CX) sold $355 million worth of assets in Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Guadeloupe that were previously part of its Venezuelan unit, the company confirmed Tuesday in an advertisement in two local newspapers. The asset sale occurred after President Hugo Chavez announced the nationalization of Venezuela's cement industry, which is dominated by Mexico's Cemex, France's Lafarge SA (LFRGY) and Switzerland-based Holcim Ltd. Cemex had previously reported the sale in a meeting with shareholders. The rest of the unit is still in the process of being nationalized. In the newspaper advertisement Cemex defended the sale saying the nationalization announced by Chavez only affect assets in Venezuelan territory and therefore didn't cover operations abroad.