CRH
Cost of acquisition €6.5bn
For CRH, the purchase of a wide range of assets shaken loose by the merger of Lafarge and Holcim genuinely is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
For decades now, the tide in the global building materials industry has been in the opposite direction, towards even greater consolidation, such as the Lafarge-Holcim merger.
But this deal brings with it businesses with earnings equivalent to 40 per cent of those of CRH, so it is truly transformational. CRH now becomes the world’s third-biggest player in that industry.
Albert Manifold, its chief executive, insists that he was happy to bid for the whole lot rather than cherrypick. With a reported 60-odd potential bidders for some or all of the assets, the vendors