You are here

Awaiting FTC and EC word, Heidelberg maps initial Italcementi integration plan

Concrete News
i.Lab

To advance a proposed merger with mid-year target, HeidelbergCement AG Chairman Dr. Bernd Scheifele reviewed moves to restructure Italcementi S.p.A. operations, principally at Bergamo, Italy, headquarters and affecting upward of 400 employees through 2020; consolidate global research and development activities at Italcementi’s ultra-modern i.Lab, a Bergamo facility dedicated in 2013; and, maintain the Italcementi brand plus home base plants and industrial network.

“Integration will combine two of the leading global industry players, which share a long-standing tradition of industrial culture, world-class innovation capabilities, and strong leadership in their respective markets,” said Dr. Scheifele, outlining the merger status last month in Bergamo. “Following our motto ‘all business is local’, it is important for us to preserve Italcementi’s strengths and professional expertise, which have ensured its success in Italy and abroad. I am convinced we will be able to achieve the planned [$450 million] €400 million in synergies and bring Italcementi back to profits by operational improvements, streamlining the administration and leveraging the increased size of our combined business.”
The i.Lab Centre in Bergamo, Italy, will house global research & development activities and Italcementi headquarters staff.

The parent of Irving, Texas-based Lehigh Hanson Inc., HeidelbergCement has submitted a formal proposal to the European Commission, one of two regulatory agencies whose clearance is required to effect the Italcementi union. Topping competition matters is divestment of Italcementi’s Compagnie des Ciments Belges S.A. business, with integrated production in Belgium and the Netherlands. Its sale would relieve otherwise limited European-market overlap between HeidelbergCement and Italcementi properties.

A second regulatory agency, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, stands to review the competitive effects of a merged business encompassing Lehigh Hanson and Essroc Cement Corp., Nazareth, Pa. The Italcementi integration announcement did not reference specific actions in the U.S., where Lehigh Hanson and Essroc Cement have closely situated cement production and distribution in certain Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes markets.

The merger appears pacing a projected 12-month timetable noted in July 2015, when HeidelbergCement—less than a month after its French and Swiss contemporaries formed LafargeHolcim Ltd.—entered into an agreement to acquire a 45 percent Italcementi stake from a holding company Itamobiliare S.p.A. A second merger step involves a HeidelbergCement offer for remaining, publicly traded Italcementi shares.

U.S. PIPE ACQUISITION MOVES FORTERRA DEEP INTO WATER INFRASTRUCTURE

Forterra a
Under a significantly enlarged umbrella, Forterra is poised to test production and logistics synergies of manufactured concrete and ductile iron.

The top producer of reinforced concrete pipe, concrete and steel pressure pipe, plus precast drainage products has expanded its prospects in the water infrastructure market, acquiring ductile iron product leader U.S. Pipe. The Birmingham, Ala., operator brings Irving, Texas-based Forterra Building Products 20 manufacturing and fabrication facilities in the U.S. and Mexico, and the leading brand of ductile iron pipe, fittings, joint restraints and related products among distributors, contractors and engineers.

“The addition of U.S. Pipe is the next step in Forterra’s strategic growth plan and builds on our successful track record of partnering with businesses that have great people and strong market positions,” says Forterra CEO Jeff Bradley. “The combination of U.S. Pipe and Forterra enhances our position in attractive and growing end markets, creates the leading North American water transmission and infrastructure business, and brings meaningful benefits for our customers. We expect to further invest in U.S. Pipe in order to extend and enhance its strong record of profitable growth, both through additional value-creating acquisitions and capital investment.”

“U.S. Pipe has provided dependable and economical solutions for over a century, and we look forward to continuing that tradition as part of the Forterra family. This strategic business combination clearly positions our combined enterprise for enhanced growth and success,” adds U.S. Pipe CEO Paul Ciolino.

The acquisition adds a valuable new growth platform and expanded capabilities, Forterra officials contend, citing how U.S. Pipe’s complementary portfolio of products strategically augments an existing suite of concrete and steel pressure pipe solutions. The combined operations will serve a broad customer base across the residential, commercial and infrastructure landscape with pipe ranging from 3- to 144-in. diameter, plus a complete solution set for the first to last mile of water transmission and distribution networks.

U.S. Pipe will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Forterra and maintain its Alabama headquarters. Following deals for Cretex Concrete Products and Sherman Dixie Concrete Industries, U.S. Pipe is the third major acquisition for Forterra Building Products, the former Hanson Building Products business.