CRH selling European lime business to SigmaRoc

CRH is raising $1.1bn from the sale of its lime operations in Europe to AIM-quoted SigmaRoc, the building materials giant announced on Wednesday.

The Dublin-headquartered company said it is selling 16 operating locations across Ireland, the UK, Germany, Czech Republic and Poland with a combined annual revenue of €610m.

SigmaRoc is undertaking a £200m a share placing to raise funds. Given the size of the deal, the acquisition is seen as a reverse takeover and so SigmaRoc's shares have been suspended from trade.

The divestment comes just a day after CRH announced a $2.1bn purchase of a portfolio of cement and readymixed concrete assets in Texas.

The decision to divest at an attractive valuation follows a comprehensive review of the business and demonstrates CRH's active approach to portfolio management," said CRH chief executive Albert Manifold.

"The proceeds from the divestment will provide us with significant additional capital allocation opportunities to deliver further growth and value creation for our shareholders."

The stock was up 0.25% at 4,885p, having risen nearly 3% on Tuesday as it also reported its third-quarter results, in which it delivered an 8% increase in sales and raised its full-year profit guidance.