CRH to increase M&A spend?

According to CEO of Ireland-based 723 CRH, Myles Lee, the construction materials company could increase spending for mergers and acquisitions to between €1 billion and €1.5 billion in the coming 18 months, should worthy opportunities arise.

A total of 45% of the company's revenue in 2011 was accounted for by sales in the US (based on Bloomberg's compiled data), and the announcement comes at a time when the housing sector in the US is recovering.

Figures from the US Commerce Department indicated that housing starts grew 3.6% to an 894,000 yearly rate in October 2012, the fastest since July 2008.

Since that year, CRH's takeover spending has not surpassed €1 billion, and the company cut such spending after the freezing of credit markets and the stalling of the worldwide economy amid the failure of 3057 Lehman Brothers Holdings.