DUBAI: Raysut Cement Co, Oman's largest cement producer by market value, is holding acquisition talks with several companies and expects to reach an agreement within a month, its chief financial officer said on Sunday. "We have been exploring acquisitions for some time now. There is still some way to go. The important thing is the tonnage capacity. We won't go for below one million ton capacity," Samidh Mukhopadhyay told Reuters by telephone from Muscat. "It (a deal) may be announced in a month's time because the dialogue is still happening." Mukhopadhyay declined to provide any additional details on target companies or the expected value of a deal. Analysts say the company is looking for an acquisition with a potential value of between $150 million to $200 million and have cited Ras Al Khaimah Cement (RAK Cement) as a likely candidate. "I cannot confirm or deny any names," Mukhopadhyay said when asked about RAK Cement. RAK Cement was not immediately available for comment. In February, Raysut said it was planning a bid to buy the Star Cement Group of Companies but the deal was ultimately clinched by India's UltraTech Cement. Raysut on Wednesday said its nine-month profit before tax was 19.03 mln rials compared with 24.2 mln rials year-ago.–Additional reporting by Amena Bakr
