European Commission provides clearance for proposed merger of Holcim and Lafarge

Holcim and Lafarge have received clearance from the European Commission for their proposed merger, thus finalizing the list of assets for divestment in Europe, which also includes Lafarge assets’ in Romania, following discussions with the European authority, according to a joint press release.

In addition to the list presented in October 2014, when the proposed merger was officially notified, there is only a very slight change in France. There, Holcim shall dispose of its assets in metropolitan France, except for its Altkirch cement plant and aggregates and ready-mix sites in the Haut-Rhin region, while Lafarge will sell its assets on Reunion Island, except for its shareholding in Ciments de Bourbon.

In Romania, Lafarge’s operations which mainly concern the production of cement and aggregates are to be fully disposed. Thus Holcim will maintain its domestic assets which comprise two cement plants in Campulung and Alesd, the grinding station in Turda, 13 environment-friendly ready-mixed concrete plants, 3 aggregates plants, 2 special binder plants, one cement terminal in Bucharest and one in Turda.

As regards Lafarge’s global operations, further disposals include assets in Germany, the United Kingdom (Lafarge Tarmac assets with the possible exception of a cement plant), Brazil and the Philippines.  Additionally, Holcim’s assets in Brazil, Canada, Hungary, Serbia and Mauritius are also proposed for divestment.

Currently, Lafarge and Holcim continue are negotiating the sale of these assets with potential buyers, who will have to be pre-approved by the European Commission. The divestments remain subject to the completion of the merger, including a successful public exchange offering and approval by Holcim's shareholders in the second quarter of 2015.

Holcim and Lafarge, global leading companies in the building materials sector with combined turnovers of over 30 billion euro officially announced their merger on April 7, the closing of the transaction being expected in the first half of the next year.