Displaying items by tag: European Commission
Lafarge and Holcim notify EC over merger
28 October 2014Europe: Lafarge and Holcim have formally notified the European Commission (EC) of their proposed merger in order to obtain regulatory approval. With this notification, Holcim and Lafarge have now completed all necessary notifications with regulatory authorities worldwide.
During pre-notification discussions, which Lafarge and Holcim have had with the EC, the list of proposed assets for divestment in Europe has been slightly amended. Compared with the list of assets presented on 7 July 2014, the two companies now propose to retain Lafarge's Mannersdorf plant in Austria and to divest all of Holcim's operations in Slovakia.
In the rest of the world, the proposed list of assets remains the same, with the exception of the Philippines, as announced by the boards of directors of Lafarge Republic Inc. and of Holcim Philippines Inc.
In parallel to the regulatory process, Holcim and Lafarge are in ongoing negotiations with potential buyers of the assets that are proposed for divestment.
Lafarge and Holcim about to request EU approval to merge
10 October 2014Europe: Lafarge and Holcim are about to request approval from the European Commission (EC) for their planned merger, according to Lafarge CEO Bruno Lafont.
"We are indeed very close to EU notification," said Lafont. He added that talks with Brussels had been constructive and that the companies were 'well on track' to close the deal in the first half of 2015.
Romania: Holcim is mulling its options after the European Union's (EU) top court dismissed its lawsuit against the European Commission (EC) over the theft of 1.6 million emissions allowances in 2010.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) on 18 Sept 2014 rejected Holcim's arguments that the EC should compensate it for Euro17.6m for damages suffered when the online carbon trading account of its Romanian subsidiary was hacked. In its judgment, the court ruled that Holcim must bear the losses resulting from the thefts and pay the EC's legal costs in the case, which were not disclosed.
"Holcim has taken note of the General Court's judgement," said a Holcim sposewoman. "We are currently analysing the decision in more detail and cannot comment any further."
In November 2010 cyber criminals hacked into Holcim's account at the Romanian emissions trading registry - previously one of around 30 online trading hubs in the EU carbon market - and transferred 1.6 million s-called EU allowances to two accounts at the Italian and Liechtenstein registries. According to EU records, the allowances then passed through registry accounts in the UK, France, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic within hours, before eventually being sold on emissions exchanges in Paris and Amsterdam.
Around 695,000 allowances were later returned to Holcim by various European authorities, but the company's spokeswoman said that the remaining units have still not been recovered.
Holcim sued the EC, which administers the bloc's electronic emissions trading network, in 2012 for failing to freeze the accounts containing the stolen units, for not returning them and for allowing other companies to turn them in for compliance under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). The EC refused to reveal the location of the allowances, saying that under EU law the details were confidential and could only be passed to European authorities.
Several European companies including International Power and ScottishPower have since surrendered some of the units to comply with the ETS, but claimed that they bought them in good faith, without knowing that they had been reported stolen.
Holcim had claimed that the EU should pay it the value of any allowances still missing, based on the market price on 16 November 2010 (the day of the theft) plus annual interest of 8%. That amounts to more than Euro17.6m, based on a spot allowance price of Euro14.60/unit.
Holcim has also sued Romania's National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) over similar claims.
"The court case against NEPA has been suspended by the civil court until the Romanian law enforcement agency (DIICOT) finalises the criminal investigation, but as of now we have no indication as to when this might happen," said Holcim.
EC approves Spanish Cemex-Holcim deal
10 September 2014Spain: The European Commission has cleared the acquisition of the Spanish operations of the Swiss building materials group Holcim by its Mexican peer Cemex following an in-depth investigation.
Spain: The European Commission (EC) has objected to Cemex's plan to acquire Holcim's Spanish units, according to Reuters.
Cemex and Holcim unveiled the deal in August 2013, part of which included Holcim taking over Cemex's German businesses. The EC cleared this deal unconditionally earlier in July 2014. However, the Spanish part of the deal triggered an in-depth probe by the EC in April 2014. The preliminary review showed that the takeover would substantially curb competition in the grey cement market in certain parts of Spain.
"The EC has sent a statement of objections to the companies," said an EC spokesperson.
"We cannot comment and the process is following its normal course," said Cemex. "Proper disclosure will be made when we have to make it." Cemex had offered some concessions during the EC's preliminary review, but these were not considered to be sufficient. The EC has set a 5 September 2014 deadline for its decision.
Cembureau calls for circular economy policy
04 July 2014Belgium: Cembureau, the European cement association, believes that the European Commission's proposed headline resource efficiency target fails to capture real resource efficiency improvements by adopting the weight-based Raw Material Consumption (RMC) as a proxy.
While the cement industry is raw-material intensive by mass, it is also one of the biggest contributors to the circular economy. Cembureau believes that in order to enhance resource efficiency in the cement industry, the following factors should be ensured:
- When applying the waste hierarchy (prevention, re-use, recycling, recovery, disposal), options that deliver the best overall environmental, social and economic outcomes should be encouraged and assessed at the local level;
- Efficient use of resources throughout the value chain spanning from extraction, manufacturing, construction, use, to end-of-life stages;
- Use of resources in such a way that has the lowest environmental, social and economic burdens over the long term;
- Use of resources appropriate to the reserves available, i.e. scarcity/abundance are critical factors, which mean sustainability needs to be approached in different ways for different resources.
Romania: Industrial energy consumers in Romania will gain a 10-year facility for green certificate acquisition, which will save them approximately Euro750m, the government has decided. About 300 large industrial companies in Romania, including Lafarge, Holcim and CarpatCement Holding, that will benefit from this measure, as they will be allowed to buy up to 85% less green certificates than they currently have to buy. The ratios are established on the rate of energy costs in their total production costs.
However, the adjustment to the green certificate scheme will add 1% to the energy costs for other consumers, who will have to buy more green certificates to support the existing subsidy scheme for green energy producers. The general population and smaller Romanian firms will see increases in electricity bills.
The support scheme will be applied from 1 August 2014 and it will also be notified to the European Commission.
Germany: The European Commission (EC) is expected to give the green light to Holcim's planned acquisition of Cemex's German operations without conditions, according to Reuters, which cited two knowledgeable sources.
The transaction is part of several interconnected deals between the companies that were agreed in August 2013. The EC is currently examining the agreement to determine whether it could threaten competition and prompt price hikes. Its decision is due by 8 July 2014.
Under the terms of the agreement, Cemex will combine its cement, ready-mix and aggregates operations in Spain with those of Holcim and will hold a 75% stake in the enlarged firm. In addition, Cemex will take over Holcim's operations in the Czech Republic. Holcim will spend a total of Euro70m in cash on the deals.
In April 2014 the EC started an in-depth probe into Cemex's deal with Holcim in Spain and is due to unveil its decision until 5 September 2014. The local anti-trust watchdog approved the transaction in the Czech Republic in March 2014.
Spain: The European Commission (EC) has launched an in-depth probe into Cemex's plan to buy the Holcim's Spanish cement business. The regulator is due to make a decision on 5 September 2014.
The move follows an initial investigation, which revealed that the transaction could substantially harm competition in the Portland cement market in some areas of Spain. According to the regulator, the reduction in the number of rivals could prompt coordination between the remaining competitors, while the merged firm might control price levels in certain areas. The in-depth probe is intended to either confirm or reject the EC's initial concerns.
Under the deal, which was agreed in August 2013, Cemex will combine its cement, ready-mix and aggregates operations in Spain with those of Holcim and will hold a 75% stake in the enlarged firm. The transaction is part of several interconnected deals, under which Cemex will take over Holcim's operations in the Czech Republic, while offloading its western German operations to Holcim.
In October 2013 the EC also opened an in-depth probe into the deal in Germany, which remains unresolved. The transaction in the Czech Republic was approved by the local anti-trust watchdog in March 2014.
Europe: A European court has rejected an appeal by members of an alleged cement cartel, including Holcim Deutschland, HeidelbergCement, Schwenk Zement, Holcim, Buzzi Unicem, Italmobiliare, Portland Valderrivas and various subsidiaries of Cemex. The companies have argued that the European Commission (EC) had exceeded its powers when it opened an investigation in 2008.
The cement manufacturers brought seven appeals forward, arguing that the EC had not given a sufficient explanation for the suspected infringements before pushing them to respond to a long series of questions in too short a time limit. The judges considered that the EC had judicially provided the required 'minimum degree of clarity.'
On the other hand, the court partially agreed with Schwenk Zement. It judged that the time limit of two weeks that the companies were given to identify all of their contacts, including informal ones, was inadequate.