CRH acquires firm in Ukraine

CRH has become the market leading cement producer in the Ukraine, after agreeing the purchase of Mykolaiv Cement for €96m.

The building materials group is buying the firm — subject to regulatory approval — from French cement giant, Lafarge. The consideration will be in the form of an upfront cash payment, including assumed debt.

In a statement, CRH said yesterday that with the addition of Mykolaiv — which is located in the Lviv region of western Ukraine — the group becomes the market leader in the country, allowing it to further leverage the benefits of its new Podilsky factory.

CRH entered the Ukrainian market in 1999, through the acquisition of Podilsky Cement company. Two years ago, the Dublin- headquartered company commissioned a state-of- the-art dry process kiln at that facility, with an annual clinker capacity of 2.3m tonnes.

Also that year, CRH expanded its footprint in the country, via the acquisition of a majority shareholding in local company, Odessa Cement.

Earlier this year, Myles Lee, outgoing CEO, said management hoped to see “a similar pattern” to the last couple of years, in terms of acquisition and investment spend, during 2013.

That would suggest that CRH’s spending activity, this year, will amount to around €600m. Last year saw the company spend €630m on acquisitions and investments — roughly €30m more than was the case in 2011.

Mr Lee also recently, said that on a geographical basis, Eastern Europe, China, and India will remain a focus for the group, when looking for bolt-on acquisitions, as well as North America.