Tarmac is a British building materials company headquartered in Solihull, England. The company was formed as Lafarge Tarmac in March 2013, by the merger of Anglo American's Tarmac UK and Lafarge's operations in the United Kingdom. In July 2014, Anglo American agreed to sell its stake to Lafarge, to assist Lafarge in its merger with Holcim and allay competition concerns.

Tarmac
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryBuilding materials
FoundedMarch 2013 (as Lafarge Tarmac)
Headquarters,
England, UK
Area served
United Kingdom
Key people
  • Martin Riley (Senior Vice President)
  • Cyrille Ragoucy (former Chief Executive Officer)
Products
  • Aggregates
  • Ready-mix concrete
  • Asphalt
  • Asphalt surfacing
  • Cement
ServicesMaintenance services
Waste services
Revenue£1.8 billion (2010 pro forma)
Number of employees
10,658
ParentCRH plc
Subsidiaries
Websitewww.tarmac.com
Logo as Lafarge Tarmac

Prior to 1999, Tarmac Plc was an aggregates to construction company dating from 1903. It was demerged in July 1999, with the Construction and Professional services arms forming Carillion plc. The aggregates and building materials side of the business retained the Tarmac name and was bought by Anglo American shortly afterwards.

In February 2015, Lafarge announced that the business would be sold to CRH plc, once Anglo American had sold its stake. Anglo American completed the sale in July 2015, and the acquisition by CRH completed the following month. Following the purchase, Lafarge Tarmac was rebranded as Tarmac.

History

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Formation

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In February 2011, Anglo American and Lafarge announced their intention to merge their British construction materials businesses, excluding Lafarge's gypsum activities.[1][2] In September 2011, the proposed transaction was referred to the Competition Commission by the Office of Fair Trading, and in February 2012, the Commission reported that it had a "number of concerns" about the combination.[3]

The deal was set to combine Anglo American's Tarmac UK unit, employing 4,500 people, with Lafarge's cement, concrete and aggregate quarries, depots and terminals. Due to the size of the venture, the Office of Fair Trading referred it to the United Kingdom's Competition Commission, who concluded in May 2012 that due to the potential loss of competition in the aggregates, asphalt, cement and ready mix concrete markets, some of their assets should be sold.[4]

In November 2012, Lafarge and Anglo American agreed to the sale of £285 million worth of British assets to Mittal Investments.[5] In December 2012, Anglo American's Tarmac unit became Hope Ready Mixed Concrete Limited,[6] whilst Lafarge's assets became Hope Cement Limited.[7] The deal was completed in January 2013 with the creation of Hope Construction Materials.[8]

The merger was completed in March 2013, following receipt of necessary approvals from the Competition Commission.[9]

Lafarge Tarmac bought Tarmac Building Products from Anglo American in April 2014.[10]

Sale to CRH

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Also in April 2014, Lafarge announced it was merging with Switzerland-based cement giant Holcim Ltd., to form the world's largest cement producer, LafargeHolcim. Three months later, in July 2014, Anglo American advised it was selling its 50% interest to Lafarge SA for £885 million ($1.5 billion), in part to allow the merger to clear regulatory hurdles.[11]

In February 2015, Lafarge announced it had reached an agreement to sell the company to CRH plc, with the exception of its Cauldon cement plant.[12] Anglo American sold its 50% stake to Lafarge first,[13] for £992 million ($1.55 billion),[14] in order to allow CRH to buy the complete business. CRH completed the purchase in August 2015.[15]

In January 2018, Tarmac bought £160m turnover Welsh civil engineering contractor Alun Griffiths (Contractors).[16]

References

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  1. ^ "Anglo finds a new home for Tarmac with Lafarge deal". The Independent. 19 February 2011. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  2. ^ "Anglo shifts unloved Tarmac UK into Lafarge venture". Reuters. 18 February 2011. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  3. ^ "Lafarge-Tarmac merger in doubt". The Independent. 22 February 2012. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  4. ^ "Reference relating to the anticipated joint venture between Anglo American PLC and Lafarge S.A." (PDF). The UK Competition Commission. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ "Lafarge and Anglo American sell UK assets to Mittal". Reuters. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  6. ^ "Hope Ready Mixed Concrete Limited". Company Check. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  7. ^ "Hope Cement Limited". Company Check. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  8. ^ "Aggregates, cement and ready mix concrete market investigation". Competition Commission.
  9. ^ "Lafarge Tarmac starts trading after deal approved". Global Cement. 7 January 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  10. ^ "Completed acquisition by Lafarge Tarmac Holdings Limited of Tarmac Building Products Limited" (PDF). Competition & Markets Authority. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  11. ^ "Mining giant Anglo American to sell stake in Lafarge Tarmac for $1.5 bn". London Mercury. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  12. ^ Brown, Graeme (3 February 2015). "Lafarge Tarmac sold to Irish rival CRH in £5bn deal". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  13. ^ Odell, Mike (17 July 2015). "Anglo American completes sales of Lafarge-Tarmac stake". Financial Times. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  14. ^ Hirt, Oliver; Bart, Katharina (17 July 2015). "LafargeHolcim says buys Lafarge Tarmac stake ahead of disposal". Reuters. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  15. ^ Smale, Katherine (3 August 2015). "CRH completes takeover of Lafarge Tarmac". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  16. ^ Morby, Aaron (11 January 2018). "Tarmac buys Welsh civils contractor Alun Griffiths". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
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