US: Holcim has signed an agreement to acquire Malarkey Roofing Products for US$1.35bn. The transaction will be financed with cash and it is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2022. The Switzerland-based construction materials group said that the acquisition would fit well with its Firestone Building Products subsidiary and that the purchase would position it as a full roofing provider. Malarkey Roofing Products has forecast net sales of US$600m and earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$120m in 2020.

Jan Jenisch, the chief executive officer of Holcim, said “We are off to a strong start to our ‘Strategy 2025 – Accelerating Green Growth’ with the acquisition of Malarkey Roofing Products, expanding our Solutions & Products business to become a global leader in roofing systems.” He added “Our companies are highly complementary with many upsides.”

Malarkey Roofing Products was founded by Herbert Malarkey in 1956 and has its headquarters in Portland, Oregon. It provides products for the residential roofing market from roofing shingles to ice and water barriers. It operates production plants in Oregon, California and Oklahoma.

Oman: Oman Cement Company has invited contractors to submit bids for work at its integrated Rusayl plant. It wants to build a new 10,000t/day production line (Line 4) and upgrade an existing line (Line 3) to 5000t/day from 4000t/day. The plans were originally released in September 2021. The company also intends to shut down Lines 1 and 2 once work is completed.

It was previously reported in October 2021 that the cement producer was spending US$300m on the project and that it had hired Switzerland-based PEG Resources. At this time the project had a commissioning date of 2024.

Philippines: Cemex says that its integrated APO Cement plant in Naga City, Cebu is operational following Typhoon Odette. It reported to the Philippine Stock Exchange that the site had suffered property damage but that key production equipment had not sustained major damage. However, it has scaled back product dispatch due to infrastructure and logistical challenges caused by the aftermath of the typhoon. It also offered its thoughts to “those adversely affected by the storm and said that, “The safety and well-being of employees, contractors and communities are an immediate concern.

India: State Bank of India (SBI) has acquired a minority stake in JSW Cement with worth US$13.2m. The bank acquired the stake as compulsorily convertible preference shares. JSW Cement plans to add the capital infusion to its on-going investments in a planned 79% expansion of its total capacity to 25Mt from 14Mt.