Lafarge and Anglo American have agreed to sell a portfolio of Tarmac and Lafarge construction materials operations in the UK and Tarmac's 50% ownership interest in Midland Quarry Products (MQP) to Mittal Investments, the private investment vehicle of the Lakshmi N. Mittal family. Steel magnate Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, 62, is the chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel-making company, of which he owns 41%. He is said to be the richest man living in Europe and is Britain’s wealthiest with a
Lafarge and Anglo American have agreed to sell a portfolio of Tarmac and Lafarge construction materials operations in the UK and Tarmac’s 50% ownership interest in Midland Quarry Products (MQP) to Mittal Investments, the private investment vehicle of the Lakshmi N. Mittal family.
Steel magnate Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, 62, is the chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel-making company, of which he owns 41%.
He is said to be the richest man living in Europe and is Britain’s wealthiest with an estimated wealth of £12.5 billion (€15.5 billion), being ranked the sixth richest person in the world by Forbes in 2011 (he dropped to 21st in 2012).
The consideration paid by Mittal Investments for the assets is £272 million (€337.5 million) including up to £30 million (€37 million) contingent on the performance of the underlying assets over the next three years. In addition, an estimated amount of £13 million (€16 million) relating to working capital of the divested assets not transferring with the business will be released as funding to the newly-formed joint venture between Lafarge and Tarmac.
The divestments, which are conditional on regulatory approval, comprise: a cement plant in Hope, County Derbyshire, England, with a capacity of 1.4 million tonnes, and related depots; a network of 172 ready mix concrete plants; five aggregates quarries, two asphalt plants, one marine aggregates wharf and one rail-linked aggregates depot; the sale of Tarmac’s 50% ownership interest in MQP, which is also subject to regulatory approval and a right of pre-emption in favour of Hanson Quarry Products Europe.
The sale of these assets is the principal condition to receiving final clearance from the Competition Commission for the formation of a 50:50 joint venture, which will combine Tarmac’s and Lafarge’s cement, aggregates, ready-mixed concrete, asphalt and asphalt surfacing and maintenance services, and waste services businesses in the United Kingdom.
Completion of the JV is expected in early 2013 and once established, it will create a new, leading UK construction materials company, with a portfolio of high quality assets, drawing on the complementary geographical distribution of operations, the skills of two experienced management teams, and a portfolio of well-recognised, innovative brands.
The Mittal transaction is a major step towards the finalisation of this joint venture. A further announcement will be made in due course.
Located in 64 countries with 68,000 employees, Lafarge is a world leader in building materials, with top-ranking positions in its cement, aggregates and concrete businesses. In 2011, Lafarge posted sales of €15.3 billion, and since 2010, the Lafarge Group has been part of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, the first global sustainability benchmark, in recognition of its sustainable development actions.
With one of the world’s leading building materials research facility, Lafarge places innovation at the heart of its priorities, working for sustainable construction and architectural creativity.
Anglo American is one of the world’s largest mining companies, and is headquartered in the UK and listed on the London and Johannesburg (South Africa) Stock Exchanges.
Anglo American’s portfolio of mining businesses spans bulk commodities (iron ore and manganese, metallurgical coal and thermal coal; base metals) copper and nickel, and precious metals and minerals claiming to be a global leader in both platinum and diamonds.
The company says it is committed to the highest standards of safety and responsibility across all its businesses and geographies and to making a sustainable difference in the development of the communities around its operations.
The company’s mining operations, extensive pipeline of growth projects and exploration activities span southern Africa, South America, Australia, North America, Asia and Europe.
A spokeswoman for Lafarge said the company would receive around €160 million from the sale of its British assets, which would be used to further cut its debt.
Lafarge has now raised nearly €650 million in asset sales since the beginning of the year against a target of at least €1 billion this year.
