Market Scope: Lehigh Cement/Heidelberg + Hanson

HeidelbergCement AG’s proposed takeover of Hanson Plc (note Editorial, page 4) would afford the suitor a much greater presence in North America, where

CP Staff

HeidelbergCement AG’s proposed takeover of Hanson Plc (note Editorial, page 4) would afford the suitor a much greater presence in North America, where charter franchise Lehigh Cement of Allentown, Pa., anchors integrated U.S. and Canadian cement, ready mixed, concrete products and aggregates businesses. Hanson Building Materials America and Lehigh Cement have some ready mixed, concrete block and aggregate asset overlap in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Both have integrated cement, aggregate and ready mixed operations in California. Hanson’s lone cement plant just south of San Francisco appears unlikely to present competitive concerns if regulators factor Lehigh’s two California mills Û Redding, in the far north-central part of the state, and Tehachapi, about 25 miles southeast of Bakersfield. They are among 13 Lehigh cement plants, including two in Western Canada.