CRH link in buyout of Oz construction materials firm
By Maurice Garvey
BUILDING materials group CRH has been linked to a buyout of Boral, an Australian construction materials company with a market valuation of €3.7bn.
Headquartered at Belgard Castle, the Irish company has developed a presence in Australia already, having been involved in an acquisition in 2018.
According to its results for 2018, CRH’s Australian business benefited from continued demand in the high-rise residential market.
CRH Australian companies include Cubis Systems, a provider of network access products. It also has Ancon, a construction accessories business, and CR Laurence, a supplier to the glass and glazing industry.
Speculation regarding the potential takeover was first reported in The Australian, a weekly newspaper.
According to The Australian, Boral was linked with a buyout by private equity firm Lone Star Funds last year.
It further highlighted that CRH snapped up close to €4bn of assets from building materials companies Lafarge and Holcim in 2015 following their merger to become LafargeHolcim, and it consequently became the third-largest building materials supplier by market value internationally.
Last month, Boral began investigating financial irregularities at its North American windows division, resulting in a potential hit to earnings of up to €18m.
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