Cement News tagged under: Lafarge

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LH Merger nears completion

01 May 2015, Published under Cement News

As Holcim’s shareholders prepare to meet next Friday to vote on the planned merger with Lafarge, will the confirmed support of Eurocement and a better than expected 1Q15 performance by Lafarge be enough to seal the deal? The planned EUR41bn tie-up between the world's two leading cement majors – billed as a “merger of equals” – was thrown into doubt in March as Holcim demanded new terms, stating that the deal “could no longer be pursued in its present form.” Holcim investors had wat...

Lafarge sees growth in the Middle East & Africa

30 April 2015, Published under Cement News

Lafarge's first quarter turnover increased by 5.5 per cent to €2779m and EBITDA rose by 17.5 per cent to €403m, while the running profit advanced by 40.4 per cent to €205m. Net financial costs were reduced by 18.1 per cent to €190m but the pre-tax loss declined from €101m to €99m, with the net attributable loss declining by 28.9 per cent to €96m. Net debt at the end of March was 1.5 per cent lower at €9803m, giving a gearing level of 59.2 per cent. Cement deliveries in the quarter were dow...

Eurocement backs Holcim-Lafarge merger

30 April 2015, Published under Cement News

Eurocement Holding AG, Holcim Ltd's second-largest shareholder, said it supports the Swiss cement maker's planned merger with Lafarge SA . "Having analysed all advantages and disadvantages of a possible creation of the biggest global construction materials player we think that the prospective of the development of the combined company is very positive, so we will support the merger," Eurocement said in a statement. Eurocement, which has a 10.8 per cent stake in Holcim, said it intends to k...

Lafarge and Solidia commercialise a new low-carbon solution for the construction sector

29 April 2015, Published under Cement News

Lafarge has reached a new milestone in its partnership with US start-up Solidia Technologies® with the signing of an agreement to commercialise a technology allowing a significant reduction in the environmental footprint of pre-cast concrete. The patented technology allows lower CO2 emissions in the cement production process and utilises CO2 in precast concrete manufacturing. It reduces the carbon footprint of the end-to-end process by up to 70 per cent. Under the terms of this agreement, ...

Holcim and Lafarge receive EC approval for CRH as buyer of divestment assets

27 April 2015, Published under Cement News

The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of several assets of Holcim and Lafarge by Irish building materials manufacturer CRH. The Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns, in particular because the merged entity will continue to face sufficiently strong competition after the merger and customers will have alternative suppliers in all markets concerned. The proposed transaction concerns assets worth seve...

Bestway acquires Lafarge Pakistan unit

24 April 2015, Published under Cement News

Bestway Cem­­­ent Ltd, a subsidiary of Bestway Group, has taken management control of Lafarge Cement's plant located near Kallar Kahar, Pakistan. To mark the acquisition, a ceremony was held at the plant on Wednesday, which was attended by Sir Anwar Pervez, the owner of Bestway Group and Amr Ali Reda, the CEO of Lafarge Pakistan, among others. In July 2014 Bestway successfully bid for a 75.86 per cent of Lafarge Pakistan’s shares for an enterprise value of US$329m. Bestway Cement...

ISS backs LafargeHolcim deal

22 April 2015, Published under Cement News

US shareholder adviser ISS has recommended that Holcim investors back the Swiss cement maker's proposed merger with Lafarge ahead of next month's shareholder vote on the tie-up. Backing from ISS is a boost Holcim as it seeks to win the support of two-thirds of investors at a shareholder meeting on 8 May 2015 to approve a capital increase to fund the proposed deal. ISS said in its report to investors that the deal warranted investors' support as it had a clear strategic rationale and offere...

Holcim says Eurocement proposal 'too late' for consideration at meeting

17 April 2015, Published under Cement News

Holcim said a proposal by a major shareholder to have a seat on the LafargeHolcim board had come too late to be included in the agenda of a shareholder meeting next month. Lafarge and Holcim announced the names of the candidates for the board of the new group earlier this week, in a list comprising seven nominees from Holcim and seven from Lafarge. On Wednesday, Eurocement notified Holcim that, as the Swiss major’s second largest shareholder, it was nominating Galchev to join the board...

Holcim and Lafarge propose final US asset disposals

17 April 2015, Published under Cement News

Lafarge and Holcim announce further details on the package of assets they propose to divest in the United States, as part of their planned merger to create LafargeHolcim. The divestments include: • Lafarge's 1.1Mta Davenport cement plant (Iowa) and seven terminals along the Mississippi River to be sold to Summit Materials for a total consideration of US$450m in cash plus Summit’s Bettendorf, Iowa cement terminal • three Holcim terminals in Michigan and Illinois • Holcim's 0.6Mta Skyway...

Eurocement seeks Galchev Board seat at LafargeHolcim

16 April 2015, Published under Cement News

Eurocement Holding AG, the second-biggest shareholder in Holcim Ltd, said Wednesday it is nominating its owner, Filaret Galchev, for a position on the Board of the company that would be created by the planned tie-up between Holcim and Lafarge. The proposed nomination of Galchev in an emailed statement may signal that Eurocement, which holds a 10.8 per cent stake in Holcim, is willing to support the merger with Lafarge at next month's shareholder vote. The firm, however, gave no indication...