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[January 2006]
CRH Acquires 26.3% of Major Spanish Cement Producer
International building materials group CRH PLC announced on 30 December 2005 that it had acquired a 26.3% equity stake in Corporacion Uniland SA, a major Spanish manufacturer of cement, readymixed concrete, mortar and aggregates with additional cement and readymixed concrete interests in Tunisia, Argentina and Uruguay. The acquisition of this stake cost approximately 300 million euro.
In Spain, Uniland operates two integrated cement plants in Catalunya, where it is the market leader, with total annual cement production capacity of 3.2 million tonnes. It also has extensive readymixed concrete, mortar and aggregates operations in the region. In Tunisia, Uniland is the majority owner (88%) of a modern 2 million ton per year capacity cement plant and is also active in readymixed concrete. Through a 50/50 joint venture with Cementos Molins of Spain, Uniland has strong positions in cement and readymixed concrete in both Argentina and Uruguay.
In 2004, Uniland produced approximately 5.5 million tonnes of cement, 2 million cubic metres of readymixed concrete and 2 million tonnes of mortar across its operations. It reported consolidated sales of 423 million euro in 2004 and EBITDA of 143 million euro. EBIT for 2004 was 111 million euro.
Liam O'Mahony, Chief Executive of CRH, said: "CRH is delighted with this investment in Uniland, a company with which our existing Spanish operation has had a long business relationship. We look forward to working constructively with the company into the future".
ENDS