CRH said to be closing in on Suwanee America acquisition

CRH Plc is nearing an agreement to acquire Florida-based cement company Suwannee American Cement LLC from Votorantim Cimentos SA and Anderson Columbia Co, according to Bloomberg.

The companies could announce an agreement this week, acording to the news seervice cources. The deal may value Suwannee at about US$750m. While talks are advanced, they could still be delayed or fall apart and the valuation could change.

The planned acquisition follows a string of deals for CRH, which last month agreed to buy family-controlled Ash Grove Cement Co, also based in the US, in a US$3.5bn deal. The Irish building materials company announced in August the disposal of an interior building-products division for US$2.63 bn to Beacon Roofing Supply Inc.

The purchase of Suwannee will further focus CRH on growth in North America, where it already bills itself as the region’s largest building-materials company.