19th Jun 2006 13:00
CRH PLC19 June 2006 N E W S R E L E A S E 19 June 2006 CRH ENTERS EXCLUSIVITY AGREEMENT WHICH MAY LEAD TO THE ACQUISITION OF ASHLAND PAVING AND CONSTRUCTION, INC. CRH plc, the international building materials group, announces that one of itsUS subsidiaries, Oldcastle Materials, Inc., has entered into an exclusivityagreement with Ashland Inc. which may lead to the acquisition of Ashland PavingAnd Construction, Inc. (APAC) by CRH. Completion of any transaction that mightemerge from this process would be subject to US regulatory review and approvalby the Boards of Directors of CRH and Ashland . APAC, headquartered in Atlanta , GA , is a leading US aggregates, asphalt andconstruction company with extensive operations in 14 southern and mid-continentstates producing 32 million tons of aggregates and 32 million tons of asphaltannually. In the 12 months ending March 2006, APAC sales amounted to $2.8billion with profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA)of approximately $ 200 million. CRH's US Materials division, headquartered in Washington, DC, is the number oneUS asphalt producer; the fourth largest US aggregates producer and a top 10readymixed concrete player. The division operates in 32 US states, primarily inthe Northeast, Midwest and West and in the year ending December 2005 reportedsales of $3.9 billion and EBITDA of $ 613 million. 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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