Displaying items by tag: Federal Trade Commission

US: HeidelbergCement subsidiary Lehigh Cement and Keystone Cement have stepped away from an agreement to merge their businesses. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted to challenge the proposed merger in late May 2021.

FTC Bureau of Competition acting director Maribeth Petrizzi said, “This is great news for cement customers in eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey. The FTC voted 4-0 to challenge this transaction because it would have reduced the number of significant competitors in the market for grey Portland Cement in this region from four to three. I’m grateful to the bureau’s staff for their tireless efforts throughout this investigation, but also to our partners in the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, who worked closely with us to ensure that cement customers in this region will continue to benefit from competition between Lehigh and Keystone.”

US: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed an administrative complaint and authorised a legal suit against Lehigh Cement’s acquisition of Keystone Cement. The HeidelbergCement subsidiary acquired the subsidiary of Mexico-based Elementia in September 2019. The commission said that the acquisition may be harmful to competition in the grey cement market in Pennsylvania and New Jersey as it reduces the number of competitors to three from four and enlarges the largest. It added that Keystone Cement’s aggressive pricing had previously caused Lehigh Cement to lower its prices.

The case will go to trial at administrative court in November 2021.

US: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved a final order settling changes for Ireland’s CRH acquisition of Ash Grove Cement following a period for public comment. The FTC issued its consent for the transaction in June 2018 on the condition that CRH sell the Three Forks cement plant in Montana to Mexico’s Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC).

Also under the settlement, because the CRH cement plant in Montana currently sells a significant amount of cement into Canada through two CRH terminals in Alberta, GCC will have the option to use those terminals for three years. CRH also has agreed to purchase, at GCC’s option, cement produced at the plant for distribution in Canada for up to three years. The FTC also forced CRH to sell other assets in Montana, Nebraska and Kansas.

US: The Federal Trade Commission has forced CRH to sell the Three Forks cement plant in Montana as part of its proposed acquisition of Ash Grove Cement. The plant and its quarry will be sold to Mexico’s Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC). Also under the settlement, because the CRH cement plant in Montana currently sells a significant amount of cement into Canada through two CRH terminals in Alberta, GCC will have the option to use those terminals for three years. CRH also has agreed to purchase, at GCC’s option, cement produced at the plant for distribution in Canada for up to three years.

The commissions ruled that the acquisition would harm competition in Montana, Nebraska and Kansas. Other divestments the Irish building materials company has agreed to include selling two sand-and-gravel plants, one sand-and-gravel pit, three limestone quarries and two hot-mix asphalt plants.

Following the agreed divestments, the FTC has issued its consent for CRH’s proposed acquisition of Ash Grove Cement. No further regulatory approvals are now outstanding for the transaction. The acquisition is expected to complete in June 2018. Ireland’s CRH agreed to buy Ash Grove Cement for US$3.5bn in mid-2017.

US: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved Boral’s proposed acquisition of Headwaters. Boral expects that the transaction will be completed within two business days. The transaction is worth US$2.6bn. Following the purchase Boral USA and Headwaters will form a new division to be named Boral North America.

“We have been eagerly awaiting the approval from US regulators to allow us to complete the acquisition and to deliver on our strategy. In the meantime, we have continued to develop our integration plans and we are confident in our ability to deliver on the synergy targets we established when the transaction was announced,” said Boral’s chief executive officer and managing director Mike Kane. He added that Boral North America will focus on building products and fly ash.

US: HeidelbergCement has completed the sale of its Martinsburg, West Virginia cement plant and eight related terminals to Cementos Argos. With the finalisation of the sale the group has now met all the obligations with regards to its acquisition of Italcementi.

“With the disposal of the US assets we fulfil the obligation of the Federal Trade Commission and improve the net financial position of HeidelbergCement after the acquisition of Italcementi,” said Bernd Scheifele, chief executive officer of HeidelbergCement.

HeidelbergCement and Cementos Argos announced the sale in August 2016. The transaction purchase price was US$660m on a cash and debt-free basis. The FTC approved the agreement in November 2016.

US: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved an application from HeidelbergCement and Italcementi to sell the Essroc cement plant in Martinsburg, West Virginia, eight cement terminals in the mid-Atlantic region and related assets to Argos USA, a subsidiary of Cementos Argos. The divestiture was required by the FTC’s August 2016 final order settling charges that the US$4.2bn merger of HeidelbergCement and Italcementi would be likely to harm competition in five regional markets for cement in the US. The Commission vote to approve the divestiture was 3-0.

US: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is accepting public comments on an application from HeidelbergCement and Italcementi to sell the Essroc Martinsburg cement plant in West Virginia. The divestment is required by the FTC as part of the requirements of the acquisition of Italcementi and its subsidiary Essroc, by HeidlebergCement. The companies have sought permission from the FTC to sell the Martinsburg plant to the US division of Colombia’s Cementos Argos.

The Commission will decide whether to approve the proposed divestiture after expiration of a 30 -day public comment period. Public comments may be submitted until 24 October 2016.

US: HeidelbergCement, through its subsidiaries Essroc and Lehigh Hanson, has entered into a definitive agreement with Argos USA, a subsidiary of Cementos Argos, to sell its Martinsburg, West Virginia cement plant and eight related terminals. The disposal was required by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to address competition concerns arising from its acquisition of Italcementi. The agreement is subject to the approval of the FTC and other customary closing conditions. The transaction purchase price is US$660m on a cash and debt-free basis. HeidelbergCement expects the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2016.

“With the disposal of the Martinsburg plant we have successfully finalised our disposal programme in the context of the Italcementi acquisition,” said Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement. “Together with the disposals of the non-core assets and the Belgium assets of Italcementi we have exceeded our Euro1bn target on disposal proceeds and thereby further improved the net financial position of HeidelbergCement.”

US: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved a final order settling charges, following a public comment period, that the proposed US$4.2bn merger of German cement producer HeidelbergCement and Italian producer Italcementi would likely be anticompetitive. Under the order, first announced in June 2016, the companies are required to divest to an FTC-approved buyer an Essroc cement plant and quarry in Martinsburg, West Virginia; seven Essroc terminals in Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania; and a Lehigh terminal in Solvay, New York. At the buyer’s option, the order also requires the merged company to divest two additional Essroc terminals in Ohio.