Displaying items by tag: Holcim
Perella Weinberg Partners hires LafargeHolcim co-chairman Wolfgang Reitzle in advisory role
05 August 2015UK: Investment boutique Perella Weinberg Partners has hired LafargeHolcim co-chairman Wolfgang Reitzle as an advisory partner.
Reitzle, also a former chief executive of the German gas maker Linde and chairman of the supervisory board of German car supplier Continental, will provide counsel in a senior role to the investment firm and its clients, especially in Europe, according to Perella Weinberg. He will continue in his role at LafargeHolcim.
Reitzle has had previous dealings with Perella Weinberg Partners; Holcim appointed Perella Weinberg banker Dietrich Becker to renegotiate the terms of its merger with Lafarge. "Reitzle has an exceptional track record of successfully managing growth across a variety of industries," said Joseph Perella, co-founder and chairman of Perella Weinberg Partners.
CRH completes LafargeHolcim acquisition
03 August 2015Ireland: On 2 February 2015, CRH announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire certain assets from Lafarge and Holcim for Euro6.5bn. The deal has now been completed, with the exception of the Philippines, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2015.
"Today we extend a warm welcome to 15,000 new colleagues joining CRH. With their expertise and talent on board, combined with the strength of our existing employee base, CRH is a step closer to achieving our aim of becoming the world's leading building materials company. The businesses we are acquiring, which represent an excellent geographic fit with CRH's existing operations, are all strong performers in their respective areas. The integration of these high quality assets, which we have acquired at an attractive valuation and at the right point of the cycle, will strengthen our presence in a number of key markets as well as providing new platforms for strategic growth. The additional scale will help us to improve efficiency, speed up innovation and provide an even better service to our customers," said Albert Manifold, CRH chief executive.
The transaction more than doubles CRH's cement production volumes and will further expand its aggregates and ready-mixed concrete portfolios. The acquired assets consist of more than 685 locations in 11 countries and include:
- The largest cement producer in central Canada; an excellent fit with CRH's existing Americas Materials business;
- Major cement and aggregates operations in western Europe's three largest markets: The UK, France and Germany;
- Leading cement and aggregates companies in the growth regions of central and eastern Europe, creating a strong regional cluster in which CRH becomes the number one heavy-side building materials company;
- Entry positions of scale in two emerging economic regions; Brazil and the Philippines.
With the closure, Tarmac and Blue Circle come together to form Tarmac, under the new ownership of CRH, according to Agg-Net. The company's new branding combines the heritage and innovation associated with the Tarmac name and the unique identity of the Blue Circle logo. The newly combined business is now the market leader in aggregates, asphalt, contracting services, lime and powders and is a leading player nationwide in cement, concrete and other building products.
"This is an exciting evolution for our business. With our new owner CRH in place to support the ongoing development and delivery of our strategic vision, we're in an exceptionally strong position to deliver our growth ambitions and continue creating value for our customers, our shareholders and our employees," said Tarmac's CEO, Cyrille Ragoucy, said. Tarmac has confirmed that there will be no change to its relationships with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders.
Results of the re-opened LafargeHolcim public exchange offer
03 August 2015Europe: The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has published the final results of the re-opened public exchange offer initiated by LafargeHolcim for the shares of Lafarge.
Some 25,901,191 additional Lafarge shares have been tendered. Following the settlement-delivery of the re-opened offer, which is expected to occur on 4 August 2015, LafargeHolcim will hold 278,131,864 Lafarge shares representing 96.41% of the share capital and at least 95.25% of the voting rights of Lafarge. As at least 95% of the share capital and voting rights in Lafarge have been tendered, LafargeHolcim could request the AMF to implement a squeeze-out procedure pursuant to the general regulations of the AMF for all issued and outstanding Lafarge shares not tendered to the public exchange offer. As of yet, no decision by the LafargeHolcim board of directors of LafargeHolcim has been taken in this regard.
Holcim New Zealand develops Waitemata Port
31 July 2015New Zealand: Holcim New Zealand is building a new cement silo at the Waitemata Port. Cement ships will relocate from Onehunga to the new site, which is expected to be completed in the middle of 2016, according to the Manukau Courier. A Holcim spokesperson said that the Onehunga Port will continue to be used as a bagging plant and the silos will remain operational.
Brazil: Brazil's antitrust watchdog Cade has ordered six cement makers named in a price-rigging case to pay a combined US$934m in fines within one month in a landmark decision that also orders asset disposals, according to Reuters. Under the terms of the decision announced on 29 July 2015, the watchdog gave the companies a one-year deadline to reduce their installed capacity in the cement and concrete industries through asset sales. The decision was published in the government's official gazette.
According to Cade, which first issued a ruling in the case in May 2014, Votorantim Cimentos, Intercement Brasil, Itabira Agro Industrial, Cia de Cimentos Itambé, Holcim Ltd and Cimpor Cimentos de Portugal colluded on pricing to force rivals out of the market. The ruling, which followed an eight-year inquiry, followed cost overruns that dogged Brazil's preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup as well as dozens of road, port and infrastructure projects across the country. The companies control about 75% of the domestic market for cement and concrete.
A series of studies by Cade showed evidence that several takeovers and asset swaps among cement companies during the 1990s and the 2000s were made to prevent rivals from entering the market. The largest players in Brazil's cement industry tend to have strong market control in specific regions, increasing the potential for collusion. The number of cement producers in Brazil shrank to about 10 in 2011 from almost 25 in the early 1990s.
Under terms of the ruling, Votorantim must pay US$450m in fines and Cimpor US$89.2m. Cade fined Intercement Brasil US$72.4m, Itabira US$123m and Holcim US$153m. Itambé must pay US$26.4m. Some of the companies are challenging Cade's ruling in the courts. Cade also imposed sanctions on ABCP, Brazil's Portland cement group and SNIC, which represents local cement plants.
Switzerland: In the first half of 2015, Holcim generated higher cash flow from operating activities and increased net income supported by the gain from the divestment of its minority shareholding in Siam City Cement in March 2015. However, Holcim was faced with a challenging development in the first half of 2015 as lower than anticipated demand in some markets caused volume declines in cement and impacted financial performance. Positive dynamics in markets such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Mexico and the Philippines were not able to compensate for these effects.
In the first half of 2015 consolidated cement volumes decreased by 2% to 67.6Mt as group regions like Asia Pacific, Europe and Africa Middle East reported declines. Like-for-like net sales across the group were almost unchanged in the first half of 2015. Net sales were down by 3.1% to Euro8.12m, as better performance in North America could not compensate for lower sales in other group regions. Operating earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), adjusted for merger-related costs of Euro80.8m, fell by 3.7% to Euro1.46m. Operating EBITDA decreased by 7.8% to Euro1.38m, impacted by merger-related costs and lower financial performance in Europe and Asia Pacific. Operating profit adjusted for merger-related costs of Euro80.8m, was down by 5.5% to Euro857m. Operating profit fell by 12.3% to Euro777m, as increases in Latin America and North America were not able to compensate for merger-related costs and lower performance in Asia Pacific, Europe and Africa Middle East. Net income increased by 4.9% to Euro648m, mainly as a result of the divestment of Holcim's minority shareholding in Siam City Cement.
Holcim was again confronted with a mixed global economic environment that was influenced by moderate growth levels as well as political and economic uncertainty. Although lower oil prices influenced economic development positively in oil-importing regions, ongoing investment weakness more than offset these effects in both advanced and emerging markets. With its strong focus on prices and cost management as well as its balanced geographic footprint, Holcim was able to mitigate some of these effects. Cement volumes declined in all group regions with the exception of North America and Latin America. More cement was sold in important markets including Romania, the Philippines, Vietnam and the US. Adjusted for merger-related costs, operating EBITDA was lower, despite the positive developments in North America and Latin America. Operating profit adjusted for merger-related costs also declined. While Group companies including Aggregate Industries UK, Holcim US, Holcim Mexico and Holcim Spain reported increased like-for-like financial performance, the development in Indonesia, India, Switzerland and France was less favourable.
Holcim expects that in 2015, the global economy will continue its gradual recovery. Key construction markets of Holcim in countries like the USA, India, Mexico, Colombia, the UK and the Philippines are expected to be the main growth drivers. Europe overall should have flat development. Latin America will continue to face uncertainties in Brazil, but should overall show slight growth in 2015. The Asia Pacific region is expected to grow, although at a modest pace. Flat development is expected in Africa Middle East. Cement volumes should increase in all group regions in 2015 with the exception of Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
US: Essroc, part of Italcementi, has acquired the Holcim (US) slag cement grinding plant in Camden, New Jersey, according to MarketLine. As part of the transaction, Essroc will also obtain Holcim's cement terminal in Everett, Massachusetts, US. Upon completion of the transaction, Holcim's staff in Camden and Everett will join Essroc. The transaction is expected to be completed later in 2015. The acquisition will allow Essroc to strengthen its position in the sustainable building products market.
Lafarge brand unlikely to be changed after merger
27 July 2015Zimbabwe: Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe, which recently merged with Holcim, is considering retaining its Lafarge brand in the country, according to All Africa.
A Lafarge spokesperson could not clearly indicate how the merger would affect the local brand, but suggested that Zimbabwe could remain with the Lafarge brand with a LafargeHolcim endorsement, in comment with the Financial Gazette's Companies and Markets,
"There will be three different approaches to the branding of the new countries. In countries with a balanced overlap, including cement operations in Bangladesh, Brazil, Morocco, Russia, Spain and the US, as well as for the trading business of the new group, LafargeHolcim will be introduced as the corporate brand, while existing Holcim and Lafarge brands on the market will remain and be complemented by the endorsement, 'a member of LafargeHolcim'," said the spokesperson. "In other countries with overlap of activities including France, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, either Lafarge or Holcim will become a corporate brand receiving the endorsement. In the countries without overlap, the existing brand will remain at all levels, also with the group endorsement." Zimbabwe has no overlap as Holcim did not have a presence in the country.
Indonesia: Holcim Indonesia is ready to operate its new US$350m Tuban II plant at the end of 2015, according to Indonesia Finance Today.
Kent Carson, finance director of Holcim, said that in the last three years, the company has aggressively expanded production by building the new Tuban I and II cement plants with a total investment of US$850m. The new plants have 12.5Mt/yr of combined cement production capacity. Holcim Indonesia plans to boost market penetration into a number of areas in East Java and outside Java areas such as in Kalimantan.
Diah Sasanawati, corporate communications manager of Holcim, said that in anticipation of the weakening domestic demand for cement, Holcim plans to export to Vietnam, the Philippines, and Africa. In 2015, the company lowered its annual capital spending by 25% year-on-year to US$250m.
Aggregate Industries names Joe Hudson as managing director of cement and concrete products
22 July 2015UK: Aggregate Industries' new cement division will be led by Joe Hudson as managing director of cement and concrete products. He joins Aggregate Industries from Lafarge, where he has worked in a number of key functional and operational roles since 2001. Hudson was heavily involved in preparations for the LafargeHolcim merger as group senior vice president for organisation and development at Lafarge and has experience of running a cement business, having previously worked as managing director / CEO for Lafarge Wapco Plc in Nigeria.