Ash Grove shareholders clear path for CRH acquisition

Sources: Ash Grove Cement Co., Overland Park, Kan.; CRH Plc, Dublin; CP staff

Shareholders controlling just over 63 percent of Ash Grove Cement voting stock have approved a $3.5 billion merger agreement with Oldcastle Inc. parent company CRH. The deal is projected for a late-2017 or early-2018 closing and will position Atlanta-based Oldcastle Materials as the number five U.S. portland cement producer, with 8 million-plus tons’ annual capacity, while strengthening its role among the top five aggregates and ready mixed concrete operators.

Ash Grove officially named Denver-based Summit Materials LLC as the source of an October 5 “unsolicited, non-binding, competing proposal” potentially valuing the business in the $3.7 billion-$3.8 billion range. The overture compelled an extension of Ash Grove shareholder approval of the CRH merger agreement to October 20. In that day’s shareholder vote announcement, Ash Grove noted that Summit had not submitted a definitive proposal to back up what might have been a superior offer to CRH’s. Summit did not formally report any pursuit of a deal.

 

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