CRH expansion continues

IRISH-OWNED global building materials company CRH's voracious appetite for acquisitions is costing the company more that €60 million a month as it expands across the globe.

Since January CRH has spent close to €700m on acquisitions, an investment which would have bought fellow ISEQ members like Glanbia, FBD or Jurys Doyle outright. Only Kerry Group has been a match on the mergers and acquisitions trail since January with the food ingredients company lashing out €623m to May.

CRH's reach now spreads to 24 countries and the spending spree since January involves over €700m invested in 23 companies.

CRH chief executive Liam O'Mahony said: "Following a year of record development spend in 2003, CRH has successfully maintained momentum with total expenditure of circa €700m year-to-date.

"The capital expenditure projects and acquisitions announced today consolidate the potential for growth across our various operating divisions and enhance market presence with the objectives of generating synergies and augmenting shareholder value."

CRH's first-half purchases were led by the €333m acquisition of a 49% stake in Secil, a Portuguese cement maker. The company also bought a ready-mix concrete maker in Switzerland, a clay merchant in Belgium and businesses trading in 10 US states.

In the Americas Products and Distribution division alone the company made seven acquisitions at a total cost of €111m. The scope of the acquisitions in this category give an idea of the scale of the company's activities. They include: three acquisitions in the architectural products group serving the states of Florida, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina, combined with the construction of a large pallet paver plant in northern California and a large pallet paver and stone bagging facility in Ohio; purchase by the distribution group of an interior products distributor in Hawaii; and buy-out of a glass fabricator in Chile.