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IRELAND’S biggest company – cement and building-materials giant CRH – has been in talks to buy up to €6 billion of assets from two rival firms.
The €16.3 billion business confirmed it had been taking part in “discussions” with Swiss company Holcim and the French Lafarge in what has been described as a potential “game-changer” for the industrial giant.
The potential buyout covers operations in Europe, Canada, Brazil and the Phillipines which the two continental firms are offloading ahead of a proposed merger.
If the deal went ahead, it would make CRH the biggest cement producer in eastern Europe.
Davy analysts said the sale would be “game-changing” and “transformative” for the company if completed, and would help its plan to expand in emerging economies in Europe, Asia and South America.
In a statement, CRH said: “At this stage there can be no certainty that these discussions will lead to any transaction.”
Recently the company has been offloading some of its assets in the UK and US, selling over €500 million of businesses in a December deal.
CRH is already Ireland’s biggest firm by turnover and workforce size, with operations in 35 countries and about 76,000 employees.
It was formed in 1970 through the merger of Irish Cement and another Irish company, Roadstone.
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Fair play great to see irish companies doing well
Interesting that our post The Truth about CRH Plc was taken down even though much information is available on the web. Who contracted The Journal, the Taoiseach, Richard Bruton, Arthur Cox or CRH?
I wish CRH the best, nice to see an Irish Company being a world leader.
Great news , some of our homegrown industries really punch above thee weight in the international arena and should be supported and encourages by those idiots in the Dail
Not sure the likes of CRH needs any additional support or encouragement from politicians, Donal.
Local start-ups, yes, foreign firms (FDI) with the grand plans, yes!
As a successful 45 year old Irish plc, CRH has the capital and management firepower to continue on its growth trajectory on the international stage.
Yes we need more CRHs across sectors in which Ireland excels; eg Construction, Food, IT, Pharmaceutical, Aviation, Leisure etc.
But for some unknown reasons, the Irish Stock Exchange under performs in the IPO stakes involving our new ventures.
That’s the sleeping giant that needs awakening!
Excellent news.
Great news but I have a question- where do the get their sand? The sand trade is estimated to be about $70 billion annually and mostly illegal. The documentary sand wars suggests that at this rate of exploitation, beaches in many parts of the world may soon be a thing of the past. Beaches act as soft protection for millions of people on coastal areas.
Nearly every building, road and piece of glass in the world requires sand as a raw material. the biggest consumers are developed nation states. Many sand resources come from poor developing nations rife with corruption or from unregulated parts of the ocean. Our current ratw of consumption is completely unsustainable. Surely an irish corporation wouldnt have anything ti do with this…?
Im no expert on sand but judging by the thumbs down you are getting you are obviously hitting a raw nerve
Interesting – would really make CRH a global player in the industry. A sort of Irish Airbus.
have your say