Two of Africa's richest men are finally going toe-to-toe. They have been circling each other for quite a while but now an intense corporate scrap seems inevitable. Aliko Dangote and Phuthuma Nhleko are squaring up for a bidding war over PPC, South Africa's biggest cement producer. This time the Nigeria-South Africa power play will be more profitable than the political rivalry of the Goodluck Jonathan-Jacob Zuma years. PPC's investors are already smiling all the way to the JSE, with the share price having risen 84% from its most recent low three weeks ago. It could get better still in the next few weeks as the billionaires sharpen their tools and dig deeper in their pockets in order to win the favour of the PPC shareholders. Nhleko's consortium this week fired the first shot, producing a R6-billion cheque in a R5.75 a share "firm offer" to acquire stock in PPC and to settle the debt owed by its smaller domestic rival, Afrisam. Nhleko's Phambani Group owns 30.5% of Afrisam and has man...
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