LafargeHolcim has bought Italy-based Edile Commerciale and France's Cemex Rhone Alpes, both suppliers of ready-mix concrete and aggregates.
The building materials supplier says that the companies are ideally located in two of Europe’s largest metropolitan areas – Milan in Italy and Lyon in France.
With a combined 35 ready-mix concrete plants, LafargeHolcim says these operations strengthen its position in two of the most dynamic and attractive areas in Europe, with strong demographic trends and key infrastructure projects. These two bolt-on acquisitions add to eight similar transactions carried out by LafargeHolcim in 2020, as a key driver of its growth strategy.
LafargeHolcim’s CEO Jan Jenisch commented on the acquisitions: “They confirm our ambition to revitalise leading cities like Milan and Lyon, and our vision to support Europe become a net zero region by 2050.
“To be a key partner on this journey we launched ECOPact green concrete last year and I am committed to ensuring its high pace roll-out worldwide. This year, we have a unique opportunity to accelerate the transition to sustainable construction with an unprecedented wave of government stimulus packages, focusing on infrastructure, with Europe at the forefront.”
The ECOPact range of green concrete features a reduced CO2 footprint and recycled content. First launched in Germany in 2020, ECOPact was used in the construction of a carbon neutral nature conservation centre in Bingen. ECOPact has launched across 12 markets worldwide, including Germany, France, Italy, UK, Poland and Switzerland
Advancing its “Building for Growth” strategy, LafargeHolcim completed eight bolt-on acquisitions in 2020 in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Switzerland. The company says it anticipates further bolt-ons in 2021, accelerated by the development of its solutions & products segment.
In January it bought roofing company Firestone Building Products for US$3.4bn, citing Firestone’s sustainable solutions as fitting in with its own green objectives.
