CRH to Sell European Lime Business to SigmaRoc for $1.1 Billion -- Update
November 22 2023 - 2:47AM
Dow Jones News
By Ian Walker
CRH PLC is selling its European lime operations to SigmaRoc for
$1.1 billion in a three-part deal, the first of which is expected
to be completed early next year.
The Irish building-materials supplier said Wednesday that the
sale follows a review of the business and is part of its approach
to portfolio management.
The company said the first part of the sale includes operations
in Germany, Czech Republic and Ireland. The remaining phases,
consisting of operations in the U.K. and Poland, are expected to be
completed in 2024, it said.
"The proceeds from the divestment will provide us with
significant additional capital allocation opportunities to deliver
further growth and value creation for our shareholders," CRH Chief
Executive Albert Manifold said.
The business being sold generated sales of $610 million and
earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of
$137 million in 2022.
In a separate release, SigmaRoc said it was buying the
operations in deal that represented a reverse takeover under U.K.
listing rules. As such, SigmaRoc's shares have been suspended from
trading.
SigmaRoc plans to part-fund the deal via a share placing, which
will be supported by CRH. It didn't say how many shares CRH will
buy under the placing.
SigmaRoc is raising 200 million pounds ($250.8 million) via the
placing of 421.05 million new ordinary shares at 47.5 pence each,
with a further 10.5 million shares being issued via a retail offer
to give existing shareholders the chance to buy the discounted
shares.
The issue price is a 5.4% discount to SigmaRoc's closing share
price of 50.2 pence on Tuesday.
Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 22, 2023 03:32 ET (08:32 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Sigmaroc (LSE:SRC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Sigmaroc (LSE:SRC)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024