Lafarge and Holcim to Sell U.S., Canadian Assets to Clear Way for Merger -- Update

By Maria Armental 

French cement giant Lafarge SA and Swiss rival Holcim Ltd. have agreed to sell several plants, terminals and a quarry in the U.S. and Canada, clearing the way for their proposed merger.

The combined company would be the world's largest cement manufacturer.

European regulators, who had cleared the way for the merger in December, this month gave final approval to a series of asset sales in Europe to CRH PLC, which would make the Irish building-materials company the third-largest in the world behind the combined LafargeHolcim and France's Saint-Gobain SA.

On Monday, the companies secured approval from U.S. and Canadian regulators. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which gave a $25 billion value for the merger on Monday, said the divestitures would preserve competition in 14 U.S. markets for cement.

As a condition of that approval, Lafarge is to sell to Continental Cement Co. its Davenport cement plant and quarry in Buffalo, Iowa.

It also will sell its cement terminals and other distribution assets in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.; La Crosse, Wis.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Convent and New Orleans, La.

Holcim will sell to Eagle Materials Inc. its Skyway slag cement plant in Chicago; and to Essroc Cement Corp. its slag cement plant in Camden, N.J., and its terminal near Boston.

Holcim also will sell to Buzzi Unicem USA its cement terminals in Grandville and Elmira, Mich., and Rock Island, Ill.; and to a buyer or buyers to be approved by the Federal Trade Commission its Trident, Mont., cement plant and two related terminals in Alberta, Canada; and its Mississauga cement plant in Ontario, Canada, and related cement terminals in Duluth, Minn.; Detroit and Dundee, Mich.; Cleveland; and Buffalo, N.Y.

A list of the assets sold as a condition of approval is available on the company's website: http://www.lafarge.com/en/holcim-and-lafarge-obtain-merger-clearances-united-states-and-canada-paving-way-closing-their-merger.

Holcim's shareholders are scheduled to vote on the merger on May 8. Two-thirds of Holcim shareholders must approve a capital increase that effectively serves as a referendum on the merger. A similar proportion of Lafarge shareholders will need to tender their shares for stock in the new company to complete the deal.

John Revill contributed to this article.

Write to Maria Armental at [e-mail]

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