On 17 June 2016, the United States Federal Trade Commission reached an agreement with HeidelbergCement AG and Italcementi SpA allowing the merger between the two companies to proceed on schedule.

The Federal Trade Commission accepted the proposed divestment of operations in the US, which primarily consists of Italcementi’s Martinsburg, West Virginia plant and up to 11 terminals. All competition approvals necessary for closing the Italcementi acquisition have now been obtained.

The full acquisition of Italcementi will take place in two steps. With the approvals of the competition authorities now in place, HeidelbergCement will acquire a controlling stake of 45 per cent from Italmobiliare SpA. HeidelbergCement will then propose a public mandatory offer to the remaining shareholders for the acquisition of their shares in return for a cash payment. HeidelbergCement expects the entire transaction to be completed in the 2H16.