Cement makers Holcim and Lafarge plan on ‘merger of equals’

Two of the world’s largest suppliers of building materials announced plans to merge Monday, creating an industry giant with $44 billion in annual revenue.

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

The plan is for Holcim board member Wolfgang Reitzle to serve as chairman of the merged entity, while Bruno Lafont, Lafarge’s chairman and chief executive, becomes its CEO. Seven people from each company will be represented on the board.

Reitzle, a German mechanical engineer, also has extensive experience in the automotive industry. Lafont, a French business executive, has been with Lafarge for more than 30 years.

“This merger of equals is a unique opportunity in the history of our companies,” Holcim Chairman Rolf Soiron said.

LafargeHolcim will dwarf the next largest cement makers, Cemex of Mexico and Heidelberg Cement of Germany.

Lafarge has a greater presence in North American and European markets, while 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 about 70 countries. Paris-based Lafarge, meanwhile, employs 65,000 people and operates in 64 countries.