British building materials businesses Tarmac and Lafarge Cement UK are to merge and form a new enterprise.
Tarmac’s mining group parent Anglo American and Lafarge SA, the French construction materials company, have made public their plans to combine the businesses, a move that will save £60 million per year.
The deal will see the combination of Lafarge Cement UK, Lafarge Aggregates and Concrete UK with Tarmac Quarry Materials. These businesses specialise in cement, ready-mixed cement, aggregates, asphalt and contracting.
The businesses due to merge had combined sales of £1.8 billion for 2010, with a combined EBITDA figure of £210 million. The combined gross assets will be worth £1.63 billion.
Together, the businesses run 280 ready-mixed concrete sites, 156 quarries, 19 depots and 60 recycling sites with a total of over 7,000 staff.
Lafarge UK and Tarmac UK are to continue to operate separately until the necessary regulatory approvals are won, it was reported.
Anglo American chief executive Cynthia Carroll said: “While Anglo American’s objective remains to divest its interests in the joint venture over time, this transaction positions us well to maximise value.”
“For Lafarge, this deal is cash neutral, is accretive to Lafarge shareholders, and illustrates our strong commitment to the UK market,” said Lafarge chairman and chief executive Bruno Lafont.
