CRH spends €190m on acquisitions

Building materials group CRH spent €190m on 21 separate acquisitions and investments last year as part of its portfolio refinement.

The Dublin-headquartered firm also raised €350m from the divestment of 16 assets, with the sale of its 50% stake in a Turkish cement plant representing the biggest disposal over the course of the year.

“In August 2014, we announced a multi-year €1.5bn to €2bn divestment programme; the proceeds of €0.35bn generated in 2014 demonstrate that this programme is well underway,” said CEO Albert Manifold. “With a refined portfolio focus, the Group is now well-positioned to pursue acquisitions which are in line with our long-term growth strategy.

“The 21 transactions completed during 2014 comprise primarily bolt-on acquisitions for our existing operations in the Americas, together with the expansion of our builders merchanting network in Europe.”

European acquisitions, including selected readymixed concrete and aggregates assets of Cemex Ireland and a precast concrete business in Denmark, totalled €40m.

CRH’s sale of its 50% equity stake ion the Turkish Denizli Cimento group comprised 70% of the €240m total proceeds from European disposals.

In the Americas, the building group struck a greater balance between acquisitions and divestments with eight bolt-on acquisitions completed by the group’s Americas Materials Division adding incremental sales of approximately $50m (€42.4m).

CRH spent €150m on acquisitions in the Americas with €110m recouped through the sale of assets.

Merrion Stockbrokers head of research, David Holohan, said CRH’s development strategy update showed relatively constrained acquisition activity indicating a likelihood that the group is preparing for possible larger deals in the coming months, including bidding for the newly combined assets of Lafarge and Holcim.

“[CRH’s activity] is indicative of the group building reserves for larger deals in the future given the strength of its balance sheet and the relatively small amount spent on deals during the year,” said Mr Holohan.

“Our view is that CRH is clearly maintaining financial flexibility with regards to the group’s strong balance sheet and it is likely that CRH will be among the parties to submit final bids for the Holcim-Lafarge assets that are being sold with final bids due over the coming weeks.”