Displaying items by tag: Acquisition
UltraTech Cement to acquire National Limestone Company
21 January 2022India: UltraTech Cement has entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire 100% ownership of National Limestone Company for US$3.09m. National Limestone Company’s parent company Ghadiya Group bought it from Holcim subsidiary ACC for US$2.5m in November 2020.
Holcim completes PTB-Compaktuna acquisition
18 January 2022Belgium: Holcim has completed its acquisition of speciality building products company PTB-Compaktuna. The group said that the acquisition further expands its service-led offering in the repair and refurbishment market.
CEO Jan Jenisch said “I am excited to add PTB-Compaktuna to the Holcim family as another step in the expansion of solutions and products, advancing our Strategy 2025 – Accelerating Green Growth. This addition strengthens our presence in Europe in key markets like repair and refurbishment. Building on the entrepreneurial vision and legacy of the Smessaert family, I look forward to investing in this business’ next era of growth and warmly welcoming their employees into the Holcim family.”
Firma Vasútvill to acquire 49% stake in MABA Hungaria
17 January 2022Hungary: Kirchdorfer Gruppe subsidiary Kirchdorfer Concrete Solutions has agreed to sell a 49% stake in prestressed concrete sleepers producer MABA Hungaria to railway overhead line construction company Firma Vasútvill. Austria-based Kirchdorfer Concrete Solutions will retain its majority stake in the company.
Kirchdorfer Gruppe CEO Michael Wardian said that the group was delighted to have secured a strong partner for its Hungarian operations.
There have been a couple of acquisitions of note this week in the north-western US and Holcim has picked up another building solutions company. To find out how the latter relates to former photography products producer Kodak, read on.
Starting with the north-western US, HeildelbergCement announced that it finalised the acquisition of Corliss Resources, a large family-owned aggregates and ready-mixed concrete company, for an undisclosed sum. The purchase includes major aggregate operations with sales volumes of about 2Mt/yr and reserves and resources of about 170Mt and four ready-mixed concrete (RMX) plants selling about 0.3Mm3/yr in the Greater Seattle area.
Global Cement normally sticks to cement but Holcim did something similar last week. It completed the acquisition of Cowden, another ready-mixed concrete and aggregate producer based in Bellingham in Washington state. This sale includes two RMX plants, eight aggregate facilities and a hauling fleet. Again, there was no word of the price.
Both the HeildelbergCement and Holcim purchases in the north-western US fit the selective bolt-on approach both companies have favoured in recent years. Looking specifically at the US, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported that estimated production for consumption of construction sand and gravel grew by 7% year-on-year to 753Mt in the first nine months of 2021. Estimated total construction aggregate production rose by 5% to 1.9Gt. Within the country, Washington’s sales of construction aggregates increased by 16% to 33Mt, the third largest rate by state nationally. Meanwhile, cement shipments for the country grew by 4% to 79.9Mt although they actually fell by 3% in Washington. This compares to annual growth of 2.8% in cement consumption in 2021 that the Portland Cement Association (PCA) was forecasting for the Pacific region of the US in the middle of 2021.
Holcim has been snapping up aggregates or RMX assets in established markets throughout 2021. These include US-based Marshall Concrete Products in December 2021, US-based Utelite Corporation in September 2021, Germany-based Heinrich Teufel in July 2021, the aggregates business and two RMX plants from Greece-based Halyps in May 2021 and Edile Commerciale and Cemex Rhone Alpes in Italy and France in February 2021. At the same time HeidelbergCement was mainly divesting itself of aggregates and RMX assets. It sold Halyps to Holcim and later in the same month agreed to sell its US West region to Martin Marietta Materials for US$2.3bn. The deal included cement, aggregates, RMX and asphalt businesses in California, Arizona, Oregon and Nevada. This covered two of its cement plants, with the exception of the 1.5Mt/yr Permanente cement plant in California, related distribution terminals, 17 active aggregates sites and several downstream operations. This makes the acquisition of new aggregate and RMX assets in Washington by HeildelbergCement interesting as we can see the company adjusting to its new market position. Although subsidiary Lehigh Hanson does not have a cement plant in the state it does operate a terminal in Seattle as well as other aggregate and RMX operations. North across the border in Canada though it still runs the integrated Delta Cement plant and terminal near Vancouver.
Returning to Holcim’s other acquisition this week brings us to Holcim’s target to expand the net sales of its Solutions & Products division to 30% of the group total by 2025 as part of its plans to decarbonise. This week it took one more step towards this goal with an agreement to buy France-based PRB Group, a manufacturer of coatings, insulations, adhesives and flooring systems. Global Cement Weekly has covered this topic a few times but, to recap, it started in January 2021 when Holcim announced it was buying roofing and building envelope producer Firestone Building Products for US$3.4bn. Various other related acquisitions have followed including an agreement to buy US-based Malarkey Roofing Products in December 2021.
How any of this relates to Kodak is as follows. Holcim’s predecessor Lafarge previously owned a major business away from cement, concrete and aggregates, namely gypsum. The gypsum wallboard business, like roofing, emits far less carbon than clinker production. In 2010 Lafarge’s gypsum business constituted nearly 9% of group revenue and it described itself as the third largest company in the sector worldwide. This was divested in the early 2010s in response to debts accrued by Lafarge’s acquisition of Orascom Cement in 2008. A decade later this decision appears to be the opposite of Holcim’s current strategy and indeed much of the cement sector’s current attempts to lower its carbon risk.
Kodak infamously filed for bankruptcy in 2012 after failing to move from analogue photography products to the digital market. The question cement company strategists should be asking themselves is whether their sector faces the same kind of disruption from the government and investment response to climate change. Lafarge apparently didn’t think so 10 years ago. Its successor Holcim does.
Holcim to acquire PRB Group
11 January 2022France: Holcim has entered into an agreement to acquire speciality building products supplier PRB Group. PRB Group produces coatings, insulations, adhesives and flooring systems. Holcim says that the company’s product range compliments its own and expands its reach in the high-growth repair and refurbishment market. PRB Group employs 700 people its five plants, 26 warehouses and its research and development centre. Its estimated net sales in 2022 are Euro340m.
Holcim chief executive officer Jan Jenisch said “We are off to a strong start to the new year, on our way to welcoming the PRB Group into the Holcim family. This is another exciting step in the expansion of solutions and products, advancing our Strategy 2025 – Accelerating Green Growth. I am highly impressed by the outstanding achievements of the Laurent family as well as by the expertise and passion of the entire PRB team. I look forward to warmly welcoming all employees into Holcim and to invest in our next era of growth together, with a continued focus on innovation, sustainability and branding.”
Lehigh Hanson to acquire Corliss Resources
10 January 2022US: Lehigh Hanson has finalised arrangements for its acquisition of ready-mixed concrete and aggregates producer Corliss Resources. The company sold 300,000m3 of ready-mixed concrete and 2Mt of of aggregates in 2021. Its operations cover the Greater Seattle, Washington, area.
Dominik von Achten, chair of Lehigh Hanson’s parent company, Germany-based HeidelbergCement, said “The acquisition of the Corliss operations is a great strategic fit with our already strong presence in cement, aggregates and ready-mixed concrete in the Pacific Northwest. The transaction significantly enhances our vertically integrated position in one of the fastest growing US markets. We welcome the 230 Corliss employees to the HeidelbergCement family and look forward to accelerating their growth together."
Ras Al Khaimah Cement seeks stake in Apex Holding
07 January 2022Bangladesh: UAE-based Ras Al Khaimah Cement is considering the acquisition of Chimera Investments’ and IHC Holding Company’s stakes in manufacturing and export holding company Apex Holding. Reuters news has reported that the board of Ras Al Khaimah Cement has yet to approve any agreement.
Holcim acquires Cowden
05 January 2022US: Holcim says that it has completed its acquisition of Washington-based ready-mix concrete and aggregates producer Cowden. The group said that the acquisition expands its footprint in the Pacific Northwest region.
Chief executive officer Jan Jenisch said “This acquisition is another step in our Strategy 2025 – Accelerating Green Growth plan to become the global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions. We warmly welcome the more than 100 Cowden employees who join the Holcim family. With Cowden and its strong local roots we will strengthen our presence in this growing market and contribute to Holcim’s overall strategy to expand our range of low-carbon products and solutions.”
Costa Rica/El Salvador: Cementos Progreso has agreed to acquire Cemex’s Costa Rican and El Salvadorian assets for US$335m. The divested assets consist of an integrated cement plant, a cement grinding plant, seven ready-mix concrete plants, an aggregate quarry and one terminal in Costa Rica. An additional terminal is also being sold in El Salvador. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2022 subject to approval by the relevant competition authorities.
Cemex’s chief executive officer (CEO) Fernando Gonzalez said “This transaction allows us to progress in our portfolio rebalancing objectives, while redeploying resources to fund our growth investments and further deleveraging.”
Unacem buys Cemento San Antonio grinding plant from CBB
04 January 2022Chile: Peru-based Unacem has bought CBB’s Cemento San Antonio grinding plant in Valparaíso region for US$30.8m. The deal also covers the nearby Popeta pozzolano deposit.