HeidelbergCement exits Lehigh White partnership

Lehigh Hanson parent company HeidelbergCement AG is selling its 51 percent stake in Lehigh White Cement Co. to minority shareholders in a deal valued at about $140 million and scheduled for closing this quarter. Ownership of Lehigh White Cement, which has 280,000 tons capacity in York, Pa., and Waco, Texas, plants, will be split between Aalborg Cement Co. (63.25 percent), a North American business of Denmark-based Aalborg Portland Holding A/S, and Cemex Inc. (36.75 percent).



Lehigh White Cement’s signature product binds a 5,500-lb. conference table top at Allentown, Pa., headquarters. Under guidance of interior designers Rudy Hilt and Mike Ondra, Sun Precast of McClure, Pa., fabricated the 26-ft. slab in four sections.

“As a niche product with small volumes, the standalone production of white cement does not fit the strategic focus on efficiency of HeidelbergCement,” says Managing Board Chairman Dr. Bernd Scheifele. “The disposal is part of our global portfolio review and optimization with the goal to generate additional cash flow in order to support our disciplined growth and increase shareholder returns.”

The Lehigh White Cement announcement followed an early-January transaction in which HeidelbergCement subsidiary Italcementi S.p.A. acquired Cementir Italia S.p.A. cement and concrete operations throughout Italy from Cementir Holding S.p.A., the Rome-based parent company of Aalborg Portland Holding.