CRH agrees to billion euro deal with US Blackstone
By Hayden Moore
A BILLION Euro deal has been agreed by building materials company Cement-Roadstone Holdings (CRH) to offload the European distribution arm of its business to American investment firm, Blackstone.
A giant among building materials companies, CRH, this week reached an agreement to divest of its Europe Distribution business to private equity funds managed by Blackstone for an Enterprise Value of €1.64 billion.
Chief Executive of CRH, Albert Manifold
One of Ireland’s largest companies, the section that they have sold is comprised of CRH’s entire general business merchants in Europe, including their plumbing and sanitary heating business across six countries in Western Europe.
In 2018, the European division of the company reportedly brought in €124 million before tax with its gross assets at the end of the year amounting to €1.9 bn.
With CRH headquarters located at Belgard Castle, this most recent divestment follows a review they completed of their business over the last few months angled at maximising value for shareholders.
Speaking about the development, Chief Executive of CRH, Albert Manifold said: “The transaction announced today demonstrates the continued execution of CRH’s strategy of creating value for our shareholders through active portfolio management, the efficient allocation of capital and creating a simpler and more focused group going forward.
“We wish our colleagues in Europe Distribution every success as they enter this new phase of their development.”
An additional €50 million of additional consideration will be notched on top of the already existing Enterprise Value of €1.64 bn depending on the satisfaction of certain other contractual clauses – which would ultimately see the Enterprise Value rise to €1.69 bn.
With the deal agreed, all that is left is for the transaction to go through, but it is subject to regulatory approval.
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