CMA welcomes recent sale of UK plants

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has welcomed the sale of plants by Lafarge Tarmac and Hanson.

In the Competition Commission’s (CC) market investigation report published in January 2014, the CC had ordered Lafarge Tarmac to sell one of two cement plants and Hanson to sell one of its ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) plants to enhance competition in the cement and GGBS markets in Great Britain.

Lafarge Tarmac and Hope Construction Materials Ltd (Hope) both appealed the CC’s decision to the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

In December 2014, the European Commission cleared the merger between Lafarge and Holcim, subject to commitments that conformed to and were consistent with the CC’s report and its objective of creating a fifth independent cement producer in the UK. In accordance with those commitments, the Lafarge Tarmac business in the UK, with the exception of the Cauldon cement plant, was sold to CRH last Friday.

In light of the above developments, the legal challenges brought by Lafarge Tarmac and Hope to the CC’s report have been withdrawn.

In addition, Hanson completed the sale of its GGBS plant in Scunthorpe, as required by the CC’s report, to Francis Flower also last Friday.

This news means that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has completed the divestment remedies arising from the CC’s report.