CRH has bid for assets put up for sale by Holcim and Lafarge

CRH and groups led by Blackstone and CVC Capital Partners have submitted bids for assets put up for sale by cement makers Holcim and Lafarge ahead of their planned merger,sources said.

Blackstone teamed up with Cinven and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, while CVC made a bid with Singapore's sovereign-wealth fund GIC, the sources said. CRH also bid for most of the assets, one of the people said.

The winner of the portfolio, which is valued at about $6 billion, may be announced as soon as next month, they said.

Spokesmen for Paris-based Lafarge and Jona, Switzerland- based Holcim declined to comment, as did representatives for Blackstone, CVC, Cinven, CPPIB and CRH. A spokesman for GIC didn’t respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

The Swiss and French cement makers are seeking to divest businesses with revenue of about €5 billion to ensure regulatory approval for the deal. The companies expect the $40 billion merger, agreed on in April 2014, to be completed in the first half of this year.

Bloomberg