Oldcastle parent prevails in $7 billion Lafarge, Holcim asset pursuit

Sources: CP staff; CRH Plc, Dublin

In a February 2 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, CRH cites a binding commitment to acquire certain Holcim Ltd. and Lafarge SA assets, ahead of a planned, mid-year merger creating LafargeHolcim. The commitment centers on a transaction with an enterprise value of about $7.4 billion, and encompasses Holcim Canada Inc. plus a host of overseas cement, concrete and aggregate businesses.

The acquisition would eclipse by three-fold or more the largest ever for CRH, and become one of the top deals to date in global heavy building materials—likely trailing only Cemex-Rinker and Heidelberg-Hanson, both closed in 2007 and hovering $15 billion each. CRH has offered limited guidance on how the acquisition affects its North American business, Oldcastle Inc. The concrete, cement and aggregate operations of Holcim Canada, however, would extend the Oldcastle Materials footprint beyond the U.S., and perhaps offer limited synergies with Oldcastle Products businesses in Ontario and Quebec.

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