Holcim and Lafarge announce US divestments

Lafarge and Holcim have published a list of assets they plan to divest in the US to win regulatory approval for their proposed merger. In a statement the two companies said they had already agreed a deal for some of the businesses with Summit Materials.

Summit is a relatively new player in the cement and aggregates business, having been formed in 2008 by a group of investors. It has since made some 30 acquisitions to build a footprint in 17 US states plus Western Canada.

The latest deal will see it acquire the 1.1 million tonne per year Lafarge cement plant in Davenport, Iowa, along with seven terminals along the Mississippi. It will pay US$ 450 million in cash for these as well as transferring its cement terminal in Bettendorf, Iowa to Lafarge Holcim.

Outside this deal, the other assets up for sale comprise three Holcim terminals in Michigan and Illinois, along with two of the company’s slag grinding stations – a 600,000 tonne per year facility in Skyway (Chicago), Illinois and a 700,000 tonne per year plant in Camden New Jersey.

Lafarge and Holcim said these proposed divestments had been negotiated with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and remain subject to its approval. They are subject to the FTC’s acceptance and to the closing of the merger between Holcim and Lafarge, which is scheduled for July.