22nd Jan 2015 15:59
LONDON (Alliance News) - Irish building material company CRH PLC Thursday confirmed it is in talks with cement makers Lafarge SA and Holcim Ltd about acquiring certain assets before the two companies merge.
Earlier Thursday, Bloomberg said CRH is believed to have submitted the best offer so far, thought to be around EUR6 billion, for the assets, which have not been revealed.
CRH said that there is no certainty that the discussions will lead to any transaction, but said if an acquisition was to proceed, the company would most likely fund it through a combination of existing cash balances and debt and equity financing.
Bloomberg said Lafarge and Holcim are eager to divest from some assets in order to get regulatory approval for the merger, which was agreed in April and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2015.
CRH shares were up 1.3% to 1,619.00 pence per share on Thursday afternoon.
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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