Australia: Heidelberg Materials announced that it has entered into a conditional purchase agreement to acquire the ready-mixed concrete business of Midway Concrete, a family-owned company based in Australia. Midway Concrete operates in the greater Melbourne and Geelong areas, with four concrete plants at Laverton, Craigieburn, Melton and Lara.

"This bolt-on acquisition complements our existing concrete and quarry operations within Melbourne, strengthening our integrated market position in an attractive region," said Dominik von Achten, chair of Heidelberg Materials. "The latest addition reflects our strong commitment to further expand our footprint in core markets as part of our ongoing portfolio optimisation. Our growing base of customers in the region will benefit from an enhanced supply of sustainable products while we further extend our product portfolio."

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. Both parties have agreed not to disclose the financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to be completed by mid-2025.

Ukraine: A court has reportedly invalidated the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU)’s competition clearance for CRH Ukraine's acquisition of Buzzi subsidiary Dyckerhoff Cement Ukraine, completed in October 2024. Interfax-Ukraine News has reported that the court found that the clearance, granted in September 2024, was based on insufficient ‘clarification and evidence’ of details on the Ukrainian ready-to-use mortar mixes market situation.

The court allegedly also ruled that the Netherlands-based subsidiary of Ireland-based CRH had yet to meet certain commitments upon which the AMCU’s approval was conditional. Following the acquisition of Dyckerhoff Cement Ukraine, it was required to appoint executive, directorial or supervisory personnel to the company who did not already hold positions in CRH Ukraine-controlled entities. CRH clarified that it in fact appointed Mariusz Tomasz Bogacz on 11 October 2024, after his powers as a member of the supervisory board of Podilsky Cement had already been terminated, on 8 October 2024.

Building materials and property development company Kovalska Group mounted the successful legal challenge. The Kyiv Post newspaper has reported that the Kyiv-based company controls over 50% of the concrete market in Kyiv Oblast.

Dyckerhoff Cement Ukraine’s assets comprise two integrated cement plants, cement terminals and ready-mix concrete plants in Kyiv, Odessa and Mykolaiv. They entered Italy-based Buzzi’s control following the group’s progressive acquisition of Germany-based Dyckerhoff in 2001 – 2013. CRH and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development signed a mandate letter for the launch of a joint acquisition of the business in December 2023. The value of the deal was reportedly €100m.

The latest decision is currently under appeal by CRH.

This story was modified on 22 April 2025 to correct the inaccurate claim that the latest court ruling 'blocked' or ‘overturned' the completed acquisition and to add CRH's clarification regarding the effective appointment of Mariusz Tomasz Bogacz.

India: Schwing Stetter India, a supplier of concrete mixer trucks, and Germany-based MAX-Truder, a supplier of precast concrete plants, have entered into a new precast concrete production and supply partnership. The partners say that the business will combine Schwing Stetter India's deep local knowledge with MAX-Truder’s production expertise.

Machine Maker News has reported that MAX-Truder Chief Operating Officer Arne Völker said “This collaboration positions us to better serve the surging demand for top-tier precast concrete products across India.”

US: Building materials and services company Conewago Manufacturing has acquired ready-mix concrete producer Hanover Concrete. The deal brings Conewago Manufacturing into new markets in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Besides concrete, Hanover Concrete also supplies crane and concrete pump rentals.

Hanover Concrete President David Albright has stepped into the role of Vice President of Ready-Mix Sales at Conewago Manufacturing. The group also offered positions to all other Hanover Concrete employees.