Wienerberger brick bid for Heidelberg

In 2012, the Austrian brick manufacturer Wienerberger saw its operating profit fall from €39.40 million to a loss of €40.5 million, compared to in 2011. This is attributed to the weak economy in Europe and high restructuring costs. CEO Heimo Scheuch has pointed to the one-off costs in 2012. However, its restructuring phase is running at full speed. In 2012, Wienerberger's turnover climbed by 23% to €2.36 billion and following the takeover of the Austrian plastic pipe manufacturer Pipelife, Wienerberger expe

HeidelbergCement has confirmed it will not buy any of the businesses that must be sold off as part of its rivals' merger.

In a brief statement, the German company told its shareholders it had now stopped looking at the assets being put on the block by its rivals, as it wanted to fortify its balance sheet and put cash into its own projects instead.

Given the importance of cement to developing economies - and Lafarge and Holcim's dominant positions in the market - their merger has come under enormous sc