Turkish conglomerate Sabanci Holding plans to bid for some of the assets Lafarge and Holcim must sell to receive approval from competition watchdogs ahead of its planned merger, a source with knowledge of the deal told Reuters.

Sabanci is aiming for growth through acquisitions and said in March that it plans to spend TRL1-1.5bn (US$448-672m) on such investments.

"Preparations are being made for a bid in December," the source said, adding that Sabanci is interested mainly in European businesses that Lafarge and Holcim plan to sell and that it has obtained preliminary information to assess the assets.