Quarries, cement plants and asphalt production sites across the north are changing hands in a £4.9billion Irish takeover.
Dublin-based CRH is buying the UK’s biggest cement maker, Lafarge Tarmac, which was formed in January 2013 following the merger of Anglo American and Lafarge’s cement, aggregates, ready-mixed concrete, asphalt and asphalt surfacing operations in the UK.
The disposal will help French building material giant Lafarge and Switzerland’s Holcim, which owns Aggregate Industries in the UK, secure regulatory clearance for their planned merger.
In order for the Lafarge Tarmac sale to CRH to proceed, the operation’s 50% owner Anglo American will first sell its stake in the business to Lafarge.
The Lafarge Tarmac business employs 6,600 people at 330 sites and produces 45million tonnes of aggregates and 7million tonnes of asphalt a year from 330 sites, including depots and quarries in Aberdeen, Inverness, Keith, Elgin, Lossiemouth and Nairn.
CRH, Ireland’s biggest company, is buying assets covering operations in Europe, North America and emerging markets.
The deal will give it the number one market position in the UK in cement, aggregates, ready-mix concrete, asphalt and construction.
As well as ownership of Lafarge Tarmac, the takeover will give CRH a presence in a number of new markets such as Germany and the Czech Republic.
CRH will not keep sole control of all the assets it agreed to buy and is in talks with private-equity firm KKR about potential partnerships on some.
Albert Manifold, the Irish group’s chief executive, said: “Not all of these assets are going to remain long term in our group, that’s for sure.
“Some of these assets, we will be required (by competition authorities) to take partners on.
“One of those areas is the United Kingdom and we will look at whether we feel it’s appropriate to allocate all of the capital at this moment of time, or to take on some partners.
“We have had a number of discussions with people. We are in discussions with KKR about investing in the UK.”