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The world's second-biggest cement maker, Holcim, today unveiled a $1.64 billion (£1 billion) deal to buy a huge chunk of the Australian market with the takeover of rival Cemex's operations Down Under.
The deal is being funded through Holcim shares, and a rights issue to raise Sfr2 billion (£1.12 billion) will be launched in July at a shareholder meeting of the Zurich-based group.
Holcim is keen to gain Cemex's access to the cement market in Australia's eastern and southeastern states as well as the mining belt of Western Australia, where construction has been booming.
The seller, Cemex, faced serious financial problems after it bought the Rinker cement group in 2007. Rinker made Cemex the biggest cement maker in the US but the deal came just as the housing market began to collapse.
Holcim also said today that it would be investing about $234 million in the share placing being carried out by China's Huaxin Cement. The Swiss group will also fund this with equity rather than cash.
