North America: Lehigh Hanson and Essroc closer to integration

Integration of Lehigh Hanson and Essroc Cement is one step closer, with a scheduled mid-summer closing, as reported by Aggregate Research.

With the merger of HeidelbergCement and Italcementi, the amalgamation of two of the US cement subsidiaries is moving ever closer. Shareholders of both firms were informed of Competition Bureau of Canada approval, as well as the forthcoming US Federal Trade Commission clearance of a combined Lehigh Hanson and Essroc Cement business, at the recent HeidelbergCement 2016 general meeting on 4 May. 

An agreement rests on a “divestment package” for which HeidelbergCement has noted a “very strong interest”.  This package of unspecified US assets likely covers cement plants and/or terminals in markets where there is the highest Lehigh Hanson and Essroc overlap: Indiana, Maryland, Virginia and upstate New York.

Formal comment from the FTC and the European Commission is expected by early June. The European Commission is reviewing EU market effects of this merged business, discounting the HeidelbergCement proposed sale of its Belgian operations.