CRH moves to buy Civilmart

CRH has moved to buy CPE Capital’s Civilmart business, with the business containing assets that were previously part of Rocla Pipes. Rocla was sold to CPE Capital in 2021 for about AUD56.5m (US$37m) by Fletcher Building. At the time, the technology linked to the asset was considered somewhat dated, which may have been a motivating factor for the sale. The understanding around the market is that CPE Capital was commanding a price between AUD100m-500m and probably for AUD200m-250m.

CPE merged the Rocla business with its Civilmart operation, which is likely to have made it more appealing. Together, the offering controls 17 manufacturing facilities along the east and south of Australia. Civilmart also has facilities that manufacture concrete poles, sleepers and water quality products.

One of the other parties keen on Civilmart is Australian listed cement company Wagners, but it was excluded from the mix. Mitsubishi Chemical also showed interes, while Seven Group’s Boral is bidding and so is Cement Australia.