The latest listing in a heavy building materials producer index that has taken shape on Wall Street since Trinity Industries’ 2018 Arcosa Inc. spin-off should arrive on the New York Stock Exchange around Memorial Day. Holcim Ltd. took a major step toward a Big Board listing of its U.S. and Canadian cement, aggregate, concrete and asphalt production assets late last month with a pitch to Wall Street themed “Building North America.” Officials of Amrize—the spin-off entity consisting of Holcim (US), Lafarge Canada. Holcim – ACM Management, and Holcim Building Envelope businesses—made their case for investors, fund managers and financial analysts at a tony New York City venue.
Holcim Ltd. Chairman Jan Jenisch outlined the Amrize portfolio, along with leadership, market, organic growth and merger & acquisition prospects. When asked about the rationale for a split from the Swiss parent, he declared: “North America is too successful to be a subsidiary of Holcim.” Citing a strong balance sheet, he concluded, “We have a lot of firepower to do what we need to do to create shareholder value.”
Amrize encompasses U.S. and Canadian cement, aggregate, concrete, roofing, sheathing and insulation production assets. The “Building North America” presentation anticipates Holcim shareholder spin-off plan approval during a mid-May annual general meeting. Jenisch is set to transition to Amrize chairman and CEO, overseeing Building Materials and Building Envelope businesses with respective 2024 revenues of $8.3 billion and $3.4 billion. Each is poised to sustain solid financial performance and revenue growth attributable to internal measures, strong year-over-year material pricing—near double digits in the case of cement and aggregates—and stable or better construction market conditions. Between Building Materials and Building Envelope operations, Amrize projects commercial, infrastructure and residential construction markets respectively representing revenue contributions of 49 percent, 28 percent and 23 percent.
Across Building Materials segments near term, “Building North America” participants heard how Amrize will shore up existing cement output with an upgrade at the flagship Ste. Genevieve, Mo. plant, bringing annual capacity to 5.6 million tons by late 2025, plus work to increase St Constant, Quebec plant clinker volume by 300,000 tons. With an eye to further vertical integration, the producer will also seize acquisition opportunities in the fragmented aggregates and ready mixed concrete segments, where the top five operators have respective U.S. market shares of 37 percent and 19 percent. Augmenting prospective crushed stone, sand & gravel and concrete deals, Amrize included in its presentation a snapshot of current organic growth measures: Greenfield quarry and ready mixed plants in Texas and an Ontario quarry expansion.
Those investments will add to an Amrize Building Materials portfolio teeming with 18 cement and 55 cementitious material plants, along with 41 terminals; 462 aggregate operations; plus, 269 ready mixed, 35 concrete products and 50 asphalt plants. Upon the spin-off, Holcim North America Region Head Jaime Hill will transition to Amrize Building Materials president. His Building Envelope counterpart, Jake Gosa, will join the organization after a lengthy tenure at Beacon Building Products. He will oversee a business that has emerged from Holcim’s charter 2021 roofing materials acquistion, Firestone Building Products, plus bolt-on deals in commercial and residential enclosure products.
The Amrize march to Wall Street follows the Titan America SA initial public offering in February; the CRH Plc primary listing venue move from the London Stock Exchange to the NYSE in September 2023; and, the Knife River Corp. spin-off from MDU Resources in June 2023. The Big Board will have seen the addition of four heavy building materials operators over a 24-month period, sure to draw the attention of investors already tracking Arcosa plus legacy NYSE companies Eagle Materials Co., Martin Marietta Materials and Vulcan Materials.