BUILDING materials group CRH Plc has bought a 50% stake in American Cement Company LLC (ACC) for $50 million (€39m) in cash via its US subsidiary Oldcastle Materials Inc, it said yesterday.

CRH plc has made a number of senior management changes at Oldcastle Inc., the holding company for CRH’s American operations.

FIVE executive directors of the building materials giant CRH shared nearly €6.5 million in salaries and bonuses last year.

CRH plc chief executive Liam O’Mahony is Ireland’s best-paid chief executive, earning €3.5 million in 2004, putting him more than €1m ahead of any of his peers.

MICHAEL BUCKLEY, the Corkman who heads AIB, saw a massive 48% rise in his pay packet in 2003 to almost €1.4 million, the bank’s annual report reveals.

A major report into the strife-torn Northern Ireland Hospice was due to be delivered today.