France: CEO of Lafarge discusses merger and Syrian plant

It is reported that in an interview with Les Echos, Bruno Lafont, the CEO of French construction materials group Lafarge, has said that the proposed merger with Swiss group Holcim is not a defensive move but rather an anticipatory one. He added that the company will be better equipped to restart research efforts in a bid to speed up development, having already obtained four or five authorisations from the competition authority. Within the coming weeks, Lafont expects expressions of interest to be tran
October 6, 2014 Read time: 2 mins

It is reported that in an interview with Les Echos, Bruno Lafont, the CEO of French construction materials group 725 Lafarge, has said that the proposed merger with Swiss group 680 Holcim is not a defensive move but rather an anticipatory one.

He added that the company will be better equipped to restart research efforts in a bid to speed up development, having already obtained four or five authorisations from the competition authority.

Within the coming weeks, Lafont expects expressions of interest to be transformed into offers concerning the 10% to 15% of activity that the group must sell.

Speaking about the recent evacuation of its Syrian plant, Lafont said that the factory has not been heavily damaged. The CEO also noted that Lafarge operates in very few markets as risky as Syria and added that none of the group's emerging markets exceed 5% of sales.

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