Displaying items by tag: Divestment

Fiji: New Zealand-based Fletcher Building has agreed to sell its 50% stake in construction firm Higgins Holdings Fiji to Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) and Fijian Holdings for US$12.3m. BusinessDesk News has reported that the parties expect to complete the deal by early July 2024. The transaction includes a non-cash impairment of US$9.2m on the business.

Fletcher Building’s acting CEO Nick Traber said "We believe the partnership positions the business well to continue to play an important role in Fiji, focused on infrastructure development.”

FNPF CEO Viliame Vodonaivalu said “This co-investment not only diversifies our investment portfolio, but also creates mutual benefits for the fund in complementing our unlisted property portfolio and development pipeline. We are proud to collaborate with Fletcher, a longstanding leader in Fiji’s construction sector since 1971, renowned for their quality and dependable services. With a workforce of 700 Fijians, Fletcher stands as the largest construction company in Fiji, highlighting their corporate strength and reliability in the industry.”

India: Infra.Market has sold its minority stake in RDC Concrete, according to local press. Investor Nikhil Kamath led a US$20m funding round in the producer, including contributions from Capri Global Family Office, Sumeet Kanwar and Wear Steels. RDC Concrete previously divested itself of 10% of shares in RDC Concrete. RDC Concrete operates 100 ready-mix concrete batching plants in India. Infra.Market retains control of 100 ready-mix concrete plants through its other concrete subsidiaries.

Nikhil Kamath said "RDC Concrete has made remarkable progress in transforming the construction landscape in India with its ready-mix concrete. It is less polluting, expedites construction timelines, and significantly reduces waste and expense. We are actively seeking companies that ensure that India's growth and environmental sustainability progress hand in hand.”

US: Ireland-based CRH has concluded a deal for the acquisition of Martin Marietta Materials’ South Texas business. This includes 20 ready-mix concrete batching plants, alongside the Hunter cement plant and a network of cement terminals on the Gulf of Mexico. The value of the transaction is US$2.1bn.

CRH CEO Albert Manifold said “The acquisition of these high-quality assets further strengthens our market leading position in Texas and increases our exposure to attractive, high-growth markets. Our ability to leverage our cement expertise and technical capabilities will enable us to enhance and optimise our existing footprint in Texas, resulting in significant synergies and self-supply opportunities. This transaction reflects our disciplined approach to capital allocation as well as our commitment to deliver further growth and value creation for our shareholders. We also believe there is significant potential to unlock additional growth opportunities across an expanded footprint in this attractive growth market.”

Australia: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has called for public comment on Switzerland-based Sika's proposed acquisition of Germany-based fellow construction chemicals producer MBCC Group. The commission has raised 'preliminary concerns' over the possible competition impacts of Sika obtaining an 80% Australian market share as a result of the deal.

Sika group responded to the ACCC's concerns with an offer of an undertaking to divest MBCC Group's entire Australia and New Zealand business.

China: China Resources Cement (CRC) plans to sell subsidiaries CRC Changzhi and China Resources Concrete (Lucheng) for US$168m or more. CRC Changzhi operates a 2Mt/yr cement plant in Changzhi City, Shanxi Province. Both it and China Resources Concrete (Lucheng) serve the Shanxi Province market.

Romania: Xella Romania has sold its Macon precast concrete operations to Romcim, a subsidiary of Ireland-based CRH. The operations being sold served the civil engineering and transport infrastructure end markets in Romania. The price of the divestment has not been disclosed.

Christophe Clemente, chief executive officer of Xella Group, said, "The sale of Macon's precast concrete division will sharpen Xella's profile in the autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) and construction market and will allow us to focus our resources on the development of sustainable and efficient walling solutions for the building industry.”

Xella Romania acquired Macon Group in 2018. The addition added AAC as well as precast concrete, lime and terracotta operations. Parent company Germany-based Xella says that the acquisition made its subsidiary the largest AAC producer in Romania. The precast concrete business line is managed by Simbeton and operates two production facilities in Deva and Oradea.