HeidelbergCement not to bid for US Vulcan

HeidelbergCement not to bid for US Vulcan
22 December 2011


HeidelbergCement will not place a counter bid for US competitor Vulcan after US Martin Marietta offered US$4.8bn (EUR 3.6bn) for Vulcan, HeidelbergCement’s CEO Bernd Scheifele said in an interview.

Scheifele told daily Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung, HeidelbergCement will wait until the deal is closed and will observe if any assets will be put up for sale.

Scheifele does not expect any big consolidation moves in the industry, because companies are not financially capable at the moment, as they attempt to reduce their debts.

He told daily newspaper Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung that he expects the next six months to continue to be tough due to high energy costs and the sustained European debt crisis, German daily newspaper Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung reports Wednesday.

"As long as the problems in Greece and Italy aren’t solved, companies will hold back with their investments," Chief Executive Bernd Scheifel tells the paper.

Scheifel says the German economy is on the right path though, indicated by the number of building permits.
Published under Cement News