30th Jan 2008 07:00
CRH PLC30 January 2008 N E W S R E L E A S E 30 January 2008 CRH SIGNS CONTRACT FOR THE ACQUISITION OF A 26% SHAREHOLDING IN YATAI CEMENT, CHINA CRH plc, the international building materials group, announces that it hassigned an agreement with Shanghai-listed Jilin Yatai Group whereby CRH willacquire a 26% shareholding in Jilin Yatai Group's cement operations (YataiCement) and partly finance a doubling of production capacity, for a total CRHinvestment of RMB 2.1 billion (euro 0.2 billion). The agreement also includesan option for CRH to increase its holding in Yatai Cement to 49% by acquiring afurther 23% shareholding at an agreed formula after 4 years. CRH will haverepresentation at financial, operational and Board level and will activelyparticipate in the management of Yatai Cement. The agreement is in line with theterms of the Letter of Intent signed and announced by CRH and the Jilin YataiGroup in October 2006. Completion of the proposed transaction is subject toChinese regulatory approval. The operations of Yatai Cement comprise 4 integrated cement plants and 2grinding stations in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces in north eastern China,with a current cement capacity of 9 million tonnes per annum. A majorinvestment programme to double annual cement capacity to 18 million tonnes isalready underway with completion scheduled for 2009. With this expansion, YataiCement will strengthen its leading role in north eastern China and secure itsposition as a top-10 cement supplier in China. In a comment, Liam O'Mahony, CRH Chief Executive, said "Following our initialacquisition of the Harbin Sanling Cement Company in February 2007 we are verypleased to have the opportunity to invest in Yatai Cement which furtherincreases and strengthens our cement position in northeast China. We areoptimistic about the prospects for the Chinese cement industry and look forwardto working with Yatai Cement as it further grows its business capitalising onthe long-term growth potential and consolidation of the cement industry innortheast China." Contact CRH at Dublin 404 1000 (+353 1 404 1000) Liam O'Mahony, Chief ExecutiveMyles Lee, Finance DirectorEimear O'Flynn, Head of Investor RelationsMaeve Carton, Group Controller CRH plc, Belgard Castle, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, Ireland TELEPHONE +353.1.4041000 FAX +353.1.4041007 E-MAIL [email protected] WEBSITE www.crh.com Registered Office, 42 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2, Ireland This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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