HeidelbergCement selects bidders for US$1 billion assets

Bloomberg are reporting that HeidelbergCement AG has made a preliminary selection among more than a dozen offers for US$1 billion of assets owned by Italcementi SpA in Belgium and the US that the German producer has to sell before completing the planned acquisition of its Italian competitor.

Bidders chosen to do due diligence of Italcementi’s Belgian business include Cimsa Cimento Sanayi, and Italy’s Cementir Holding SpA. The unit could be valued around US$400 million.

HeidelbergCement has also selected bids for the US assets, which are valued at more than US$600 million. Bidders getting through to the due diligence phase include Summit Materials and CRH Plc of Ireland.

HeidelbergCement agreed in July to acquire an initial 45% stake in Italcementi in a deal valuing the producer at €3.7 billion (US$4.1 billion).

The deal was approved in May by the European Commission on the condition that HeidelbergCement sell Italcementi’s Belgian business in order to remove antitrust concerns. The US Federal Trade Commission required the company to divest cement plants in Martinsburg, Virginia, and up to 11 cement distribution terminals in six other states.

Both Cimsa and Cementir are looking to expand in Europe and the Belgian assets would fit this strategy. The sale is still at a preliminary stage and no final decision has been made.

Edited from source by Joseph Green. Source: Bloomberg

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