CRH has confirmed that it is in discussions with Lafarge and Holcim regarding the potential acquisition of certain assets being disposed of by the two companies in advance of their proposed merger.
“While there can be no certainty that these discussions will result in a transaction, if an acquisition was to proceed, it is likely that it would be funded through a combination of existing cash balances, debt and an equity placing,” CRH said in a statement released yesterday.
“At this stage there can be no certainty that these discussions will lead to any transaction,” the company added.
The Irish building materials’ major is reported to be the frontrunner for the Lafarge/Holcim assets, according to a report by Bloomberg published prior to CRH’s statement. The article reported that CRH had placed a bid of EUR6bn, although it is uncertain whether the bid is for all or most of the assets under the block. In the merger presentation from 7 April 2014, Lafarge and Holcim said that EBITDA of the assets for disposal was cEUR800m.