CRH completes $2.1bn deal for Texas cement and concrete plants

Company said it expected acquisition to generate €157.8m in earnings a year

CRH group chief executive Albert Manifold.

Irish building supplies company CRH has completed the purchase of $2.1bn (€1.94bn) worth of assets from Texas-based Martin Marietta Materials as it continues to expand its reach in the US.

The purchase included a portfolio of cement and ready-mixed concrete assets. The deal had been announced in November last year but had been subject to regulatory approval. 

CRH said it expected this acquisition to generate $170m (€157.8m) in earnings a year.

The assets comprise a 2.1 megaton capacity cement plant located between San Antonio and Austin, as well as a network of terminals along the eastern gulf of Texas.

It also included a portfolio of 20 ready-mixed concrete plants with annual shipments of about 1.6 million cubic yards serving the Austin and San Antonio markets.

This is the latest move for the company, which is seeking to position itself as more of an American company as it looks to take advantage of massive infrastructure spending coming over the next few years.

Last year, the company’s shareholders voted to delist itself from the Euronext Dublin stock exchange and list in New York to further this goal.

CRH has been on an acquisition spree in recent months.

In December, it announced it was seeking to help to buy out Australian concrete maker Adbri after linking with the Barro Group, in a A$2.1bn (€1.3bn) deal that will help boost its presence in a country which has until now been one of the smaller contributors to its global operations.

CRH already owns a small stake in Adbri and now plans to end up owning a total of 57% of the shares by linking with Barro, a manufacturing company that has a 43% stake in the stock market-listed Adbri.