HeidelbergCement confirmed it is bidding 1,100 pence per share to buy UK building materials company Hanson PLC, valuing the company at about UK$8bn.  
 
The board of Hanson will ’unanimously recommend that Hanson shareholders vote in favour’ of the offer as a merger of the two companies is ’strategically compelling, creating a strong, market leading, global building materials group,’ Hanson said in a statement.  
 
The 1,100 pence offer price represents a 50 pct premium to the average closing mid-market price of 734 pence per Hanson share for the 12 months to May 2.  
 
The acquisition will be made by HeidelbergCement’s Lehigh unit.  
 
In a separate statement, HeidelbergCement said it plans to issue up to EUR2bn hybrid bonds and sell certain non-core activities to fund the purchase.  
 
The German cement maker said it is also planning a EUR500m cash capital increase to help maintain its investment-grade credit rating.