643 Cemex, the Mexican cement giant, and Irish building materials group 723 CRH are reportedly working together on a potential bid for 725 Lafarge and 680 Holcim assets worth between €3.95 billion and €6.98 billion.
The joint bid will have to compete with 674 HeidelbergCement and 1729 Votorantim Cimentos, which have also reportedly joined forces to acquire all Lafarge and Holcim assets on offer.
A Cemex spokesperson has stated that the firm will not comment on market rumours. Lafarge and Holcim are seeking buyers for operations in France (Holcim), Germany (Lafarge), as well as in Austria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, the UK, Canada, the Philippines, Mauritius and Brazil. The asset sales incorporate 10,000 employees and combined annual sales worth €3.47 billion. 1907 Sabanci Holding is also interested in obtaining some of these assets, whilst a total of four consortia have come forward to acquire all Lafarge and Holcim assets, namely BC Partners-Advent-Temasek and CVC-Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)-GIC as well as Bain-Onex and Blackstone-Cinven-CPP.
If approved, following the sale of their joint assets, a subsequent merger of Lafarge and Holcim would create the world’s biggest cement firm.
