In a move suggesting greater focus on three of its four global businesses Cement, Aggregates and Concrete, and Gypsum the board of Paris-based Lafarge
CP Staff
In a move suggesting greater focus on three of its four global businesses Û Cement, Aggregates and Concrete, and Gypsum Û the board of Paris-based Lafarge Group approved late last year the sale of a 65 percent Roofing business stake. The worldwide leader in pitched-roof products, Lafarge Roofing operates 104 concrete tile, 25 clay tile, and 23 chimney system plants in 35 countries. Among its principal franchises are 13-plant, Irvine, Calif.-based MonierLifetile LLC, a 50/50 partnership with Australia’s Boral Ltd.
PAI partners, a Paris-based private equity firm, will acquire the Lafarge Roofing position for about $2.35 billion, plus assumption of debt and liabilities. PAI has investments in a host of disparate European and U.K. consumer and industrial entities. It previously held stakes in two Paris-based building materials and construction businesses: Poliet, a clay tile and mortar producer; and Eiffage, a heavy/civil contractor. Lafarge will maintain a 35 percent interest in Roofing and proportionate board representation. It inherited the roof tile business with the 1998 takeover U.K.-based Redland Plc, more recently bolting on chimney systems production.