Ireland/UK: Breedon Aggregates is reportedly in talks to buy a part or all of Ireland’s Lagan Group, according to the Sunday Times newspaper. Breedon Aggregates and Lagan’s subsidiary Whitemountain operate an asphalt joint venture at present. However, Lagan Group did not respond to a request for comment on the talks.
Breedon Aggregates purchased Hope Construction Materials in 2016, which included the Hope cement plant. The acquisition boosted Breedon’s financial results in 2017 giving it a revenue of Euro523m and it described the year as the, “…most eventful year in the group’s history.”
Lagan Cement operates a 0.7Mt/yr plant in Kinnegad in Ireland. In late 2012 it proposed a joint venture with Quinn Building Products. However, the deal fell through in early 2013 following the receipt of a package containing a bullet which was sent in the post to the Lagan's chief executive, Kevin Lagan. The bullet, which was sent to Lagan at his Belfast office, was accompanied by a message stating, "Quinn ... is this what you want".