Holcim, Lafarge merger to form new cement making giant

GENEVA—Two of the world’s largest building material ssuppliers plan a “merger of equals,” creating an industry giant with a combined $44 billion in annual revenues.

Swiss-based Holcim and its French counterpart, Lafarge, said the new company would be named LafargeHolcim and be headquartered in Switzerland.

The merger would create the most advanced group in the building materials industry—the two companies are already global leaders in the supply of cement, crushed stone, sand and gravel.

Holcim board member Wolfgang Reitzle will serve as chairman, while Lafarge’s chairman and chief executive Bruno Lafont becomes its CEO. Seven people from each company will be on the board.

Reitzle, a German mechanical engineer, also has extensive experience in the automotive industry, while Lafont, a French business executive, has been with Lafarge for more than 30 years and is also a special adviser to the mayor of Chongqing, a Chinese city of 32 million.

Lafont emphasized the two companies’ complementary geography. While Lafarge has greater presence in mature North American and European markets, Holcim has a far larger reach in the faster growing markets of Asia and Latin America.

Holcim, based near Zurich, employs 71,000 people and has production sites in around 70 countries. Paris-based Lafarge employs 65,000 people and operates in 64 countries.

The companies said that by combining they would “be uniquely positioned in 90 countries around the world with a balanced exposure to both developed and high-growth markets.”

They said they plan to sell off businesses in developed markets representing about $4.5 billion of revenue and businesses in developing markets worth about $2.2 billion of revenue.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of next year, subject to regulatory approval.

Greg Keller in Paris contributed to this report.