LafargeHolcim cements €2.8bn deal for firm scrutinized by Kingspan     

Cement behemoth, ​​​​​LafargeHolcim, is buying Bridgestone's Firestone Building Products unit for €2.8bn. File picture

​​​​​LafargeHolcim is buying Bridgestone's Firestone Building Products unit for $3.4bn (€2.8bn) as the cement behemoth turns the page on years of restructuring that followed its creation in 2015.

Ireland's Kingspan had reportedly before Christmas dropped out of the bidding for the unit. The transaction will expand LafargeHolcim into the roofing business in the US, its largest market, chief executive Jan Jenisch said and the company also aims to broaden the asset’s reach to Europe and Latin America.

Mr Jenisch, hired in 2017 to clean up the botched Swiss-French merger of Holcim nd Lafarge, had to slash costs and sell assets in Southeast Asia to salvage the transaction. The ex-CEO of chemical and roofing-membrane maker Sika is now returning to his earlier stomping ground and pitting LafargeHolcim against his former employer in some markets.

“After strong cost savings and portfolio restructuring over the last years, we are encouraged by this growth initiative,” said Martina Oetiker, an analyst at Bergos. 

“This might change the narrative of current management from a cost-saving story towards a consolidation story.” 

The acquisition reduces the company’s exposure to emerging markets. The global flat-roof market is worth about $50bn. 

Rival Saint-Gobain said sales of its building products in the fourth quarter were significantly ahead of target, sending its shares as much as 10% higher. 

Once the deal closes in the first half, LafargeHolcim will have a $6bn position in the US at a time of resilient homebuilding. US housing starts have bounced back from an initial Covid-19 dip. 

Bloomberg 

Additional reporting Irish Examiner