Displaying items by tag: Europe

Europe: LafargeHolcim has announced its roadmap for the second half of 2015 as it has released the 2015 half-year results for Lafarge and Holcim (click on links to see separate stories).

"We continue to operate in a demanding global market environment and this has affected our first-half performance," said Eric Olsen, CEO of LafargeHolcim. "However, as a new company we have hit the ground running. A team of 200 senior leaders of LafargeHolcim met as early as last week to align on priorities, targets and initiatives to drive the integration process. It is a great team we have on board. We have launched a set of synergy acceleration activities covering areas such as capital expenditure (capex), procurement, cement industrial performance, network optimisation as well as commercial transformation. We expect to see the first tangible results in all areas by the end of 2015."

LafargeHolcim expects to deliver at least Euro93.9m in synergies, impacting earnings until the end of 2015 as part of its programme to achieve Euro1.4bn run rate synergies by the third year of operations. LafargeHolcim has also launched a review of its asset base and the planned capital expenditures for the remainder of 2015. It targets an overall reduction in capex of at least Euro18.8m until the end of 2015, compared to what both companies had planned to spend on a standalone basis. This results in capex of below Euro1.31bn for the second half of 2015. In parallel, the company has also launched a portfolio review for further optimisation.

Further, LafargeHolcim has defined capital allocation discipline as a key focus area with a view to reduce capex and maximise cash generation and returns for shareholders. As a first step, LafargeHolcim has decided on a progressive dividend policy, starting at least at Euro1.22/share for the financial year 2015, subject to approval at the Annual General Meeting in 2016. This will apply to all shares, including the new shares to be awarded to shareholders as a scrip dividend of one share per 20 shares held that was announced in March 2015. This scrip dividend is now expected to be issued on 8 September 2015.

LafargeHolcim expects net proceeds of around Euro5.63bn by the end of 2015 from divestments that will be used to reduce debt, supporting a solid financial structure. This would lead to a net debt below Euro14.1bn by the end of 2015, prior to the fair value adjustment on the Lafarge debt and a potential squeeze-out of Lafarge.

Europe: In accordance with Article 20 of the Federal Act on Stock Exchanges and Securities Trading (Stock Exchange Act), LafargeHolcim Ltd was informed by Schweizerische Cement-Industrie-Gesellschaft (Thomas Schmidheiny), Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (Jacqueline Desmarais, André Desmarais, Paul Desmarais Jr, Albert Frère), Eurocement Holding AG (Filaret Galchev-Kaltsidis), NNS Jersey Trust (Nassef Sawiris), Dodge & Cox and Harbor Funds about their number of voting rights and of the registered share capital they hold in LafargeHolcim Ltd as of 15 July 2015. The data is as follows:

- Schweizerische Cement-Industrie-Gesellschaft (Thomas Schmidheiny): 11.872%;
- Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (Jacqueline Desmarais, André Desmarais, Paul Desmarais Jr, Albert Frère): 9.84%;
- Eurocement Holding AG (Filaret Galchev-Kaltsidis): 6.38%;
- NNS Jersey Trust (Nassef Sawiris): 4.97% (3.99% in reg. shares);
- Dodge & Cox: 3.41%;
- Harbor Funds: 1.8609%.

Europe: Following the successful completion of the merger between Holcim and Lafarge, LafargeHolcim has today started trading on the SIX Swiss Exchange in Zurich with the ticker symbol LHN and on Euronext in Paris, joining the Swiss Market Index (SMI) and the CAC 40 index (replacing Lafarge SA) respectively. LafargeHolcm had a total market capitalisation of around Euro39.4bn on 13 July 2015. Representatives of LafargeHolcim's senior management will attend the start of trading ceremony in Paris.

Europe: Holcim Ltd and Lafarge SA have completed their global merger and have launched LafargeHolcim. The merger completion was dated 10 July 2015. All conditions for the completion of the merger were fulfilled following the successful completion of the public exchange offer and the issuance of new Holcim shares to Lafarge shareholders. Holcim's shareholders had previously approved the merger-related resolutions at an Extraordinary General Meeting on 8 May 2015.

With the completion of the merger, the mandate of the new board of directors and of the new executive committee with Eric Olsen as CEO has become effective. LafargeHolcim will also unveil its new logo and corporate identity. It has been designed to demonstrate that Holcim and Lafarge have united to form one company, expressing the leadership and strength of the new group.

"Today's closing is a historic event, not only for our two founding companies, but also for the industry as a whole. LafargeHolcim has a unique business portfolio, is the industry benchmark in research and devlopment and offers its customers the widest range of innovative and value-adding products, services and solutions, from smallholders to large enterprises and most complex projects," said Wolfgang Reitzle, co-chairman (statutory chairman) of the board of directors of LafargeHolcim.

"This new company is built on the rich history and culture of Lafarge and Holcim and its teams. The merger has not only resulted in a larger and more global company but brings about a unique set of complementary capabilities to capitalize on. Under the leadership of Eric Olsen, the new Group will foster a new operating model and create more value for all our stakeholders," said Bruno Lafont, co-chairman of the board of directors of LafargeHolcim.

The new LafargeHolcim shares will be traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange as well as the Euronext in Paris as of 14 July 2015. As announced, LafargeHolcim will re-open the public exchange offer to give the remaining Lafarge shareholders the opportunity to also tender their shares. The new offer period will start on 15 July 2015 for a duration of ten trading days until 28 July 2015.

Europe: The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has published the final results of the public exchange offer initiated by Holcim Ltd for the shares of Lafarge SA.

Following the settlement-delivery of the offer expected to occur on 10 July 2015, Holcim Ltd will hold 252,230,673 Lafarge SA shares, representing 87.46% of the share capital and at least 83.94% of the voting rights of Lafarge SA based on the total number of shares outstanding as of 8 July 2015. In accordance with the AMF general regulations, the offer will be re-opened during at least 10 trading days according to a timetable that will be published by the AMF.

Holcim has announced that in connection with the successful public exchange offer and the expected closing of the merger with Lafarge, Bernard Fontana will step down from his position as CEO of Holcim Ltd with the completion of the merger. He will also resign from all mandates in all Holcim Group entities.

"It has been a pleasure and honour to work with remarkable and passionate people throughout the past years at Holcim. I wish the new company LafargeHolcim and the entire team all the very best for the future," said Fontana. The board of directors has thanked Fontana for his leadership and achievements for the group, and in particular for the successful implementation of the Holcim Leadership Journey.

Andreas Leu, currently responsible for the Americas, will also leave Holcim with effect from 1 August 2015. Bernard Terver, currently responsible for Africa and the Middle East as well as South Asia, will assume the position as head of India for LafargeHolcim from the date of the closure of the merger. In this capacity he will continue his mandates in the boards of Ambuja Cements and ACC Limited in India. Holcim's board of directors and the executive committee have thanked Leu for his contributions to the success of the group and wish him all the very best for his future.

Europe: Following the clearance from the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) on 28 May 2015, Holcim launched the public exchange offer for all Lafarge shares at an exchange ratio of 9 Holcim shares for 10 Lafarge shares on 1 June 2015. Through acceptance of the public exchange offer, Lafarge shareholders will pave the way for the creation of LafargeHolcim.

The public exchange offer will be open for 25 trading days until 3 July 2015. With this public exchange offer, Lafarge and Holcim are implementing the final step of their project to merge the two companies. The merger is expected to close in July 2015.

Europe: Lafarge and Holcim have completed the appointments for the future executive committee of LafargeHolcim following a recommendation by Eric Olsen, future CEO of the combined group. The future executive committee, under the leadership of Eric Olsen, is composed of:

• Finance - Thomas Aebischer, currently in charge of finance at Holcim;
• Integration, organisation and human resources - Jean-Jacques Gauthier, currently in charge of finance at Lafarge;
• Europe - Roland Köhler, currently in charge of Europe at Holcim;
• Asia Pacific - Ian Thackwray, currently in charge of East Asia Pacific and trading at Holcim;
• Middle-East Africa - Saâd Sebbar, currently in charge of Morocco at Lafarge;
• North America - Alain Bourguignon, previously in charge of North America and the UK at Holcim;
• Latin America - Pascal Casanova, currently in charge of France at Lafarge;
• Performance and cost - Urs Bleisch, currently in charge of corporate functions at Holcim;
• Growth and innovation - Gérard Kuperfarb, currently in charge of innovation at Lafarge.

Following appropriate information-consultation processes with relevant works councils and employee representatives, Lafarge and Holcim have now entered a binding agreement with CRH regarding the sale of several assets. The assets include operations mainly in Europe, Canada, Brazil and the Philippines with an enterprise value of Euro6.5bn. The divestments remain subject to the completion of the merger including the acceptance of Holcim's public exchange offer by the shareholders of Lafarge. The merger is expected to close in July 2015.

Europe: On 8 May 2015, Lafarge and Holcim secured support from Holcim shareholders for their proposed merger. Representing around 72% of Holcim's share capital, the 738 shareholders attending the Extraordinary General Meeting of Holcim Ltd approved all motions proposed by the board of directors.

"Holcim shareholders have voted for a joint future with Lafarge with an overwhelming majority. With this decision, we create the opportunity for profitable and sustainable growth. Holcim and Lafarge can now take the final steps to found the world leader in the building materials sector," said Wolfgang Reitzle, currently chairman of Holcim and future co-chairman (statutory chairman).

"It is a great satisfaction that Holcim shareholders overwhelmingly gave their support to the proposed merger. This endorsement is a clear demonstration that shareholders are fully convinced of the substantial value creation potential. I am confident that Lafarge shareholders will in turn ratify this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and tender their shares, paving the way to the merger. The combined group will be a unique global champion in the building materials industry, focusing on customers and innovation, uniting the best teams in the industry. Featuring a new business model, outstanding cash flow generation capabilities and reduced capital intensity LafargeHolcim is designed to deliver superior returns to shareholders," said Bruno Lafont, currently chairman and CEO of Lafarge and future co-chairman of LafargeHolcim.

Holcim shareholders approved with a vast majority the creation of both ordinary and authorised share capital, which are necessary for the successful completion of the merger. In addition, shareholders also voted for the creation of authorised share capital in order to allow the distribution of a stock dividend to all shareholders of the new Company. The proposal to change the corporate name of Holcim Ltd to LafargeHolcim Ltd was approved as well.

The shareholders elected Bruno Lafont, Bertrand Collomb, Philippe Dauman, Paul Desmarais Jr, Oscar Fanjul, Gérard Lamarche and Nassef Sawiris to the board of directors. They will join Wolfgang Reitzle, Beat Hess, Alexander Gut, Adrian Loader, Thomas Schmidheiny, Hanne Birgitte Breinbjerg Sørensen, and Dieter Spälti, who had been elected at Holcim's ordinary General Meeting on 13 April 2015. Subject to the effective completion of the exchange offer, Anne Wade and Jürg Oleas will resign from their office as current members of the board of directors of Holcim.

Europe: Holcim has adopted an automated dispatch processes and weighing technology in its Eastern Europe plants using logistics software from Schenck Process. Since the start of 2014 the LOGiQ software has automated process and data management relating to dispatch services in the company's 14 locations in the region. In January 2015 the software handled more than 10,000 transport orders. Four other locations are currently in the process of being connected to the dispatch automation system.

"The requirements for such integrated solutions fits in very well with Schenck Process not only because of its know-how in the field of weighing technology, its equipment and machinery but also in the area of software," explains Nino Stölzel, Sales Manager at Schenck Process.

Europe: CRH has been approved by the European Commission as a purchaser of assets in the European Union from Lafarge and Holcim. CRH has also received from the European Commission the clearance for the acquisition of these assets. These divestments remain subject to the completion of the merger between Lafarge and Holcim, including a successful public exchange offering to Lafarge's shareholders and approval by Holcim's shareholders.

In France Holcim and Lafarge are divesting all of Holcim's assets, except for its Altkirch cement plant and aggregates and ready-mix sites in the Haut-Rhin region, and a grinding station of Lafarge in Saint-Nazaire. Lafarge's assets on Reunion island are being sold except for its shareholding in Ciments de Bourbon. All of Lafarge's assets are also being sold in Germany and Romania. Lafarge Tarmac assets in the UK are being sold with the exception of its Cauldon and Cookstown plants and certain associated assets. In Hungary all of Holcim's operating assets are being divested and it is selling its assets in Slovakia.