ARQIS advises CRH plc. on the German part of its sale of its European distribution business

18. July 2019

ARQIS has advised FTSE-100 listed CRH plc. (“CRH“) on the sale of its European distribution business to funds managed by Blackstone for an enterprise value of € 1.64 billion. The worldwide lead to CRH was Slaughter and May, which worked alongside CRH’s general counsel, Chris Roberts, and deputy general counsel, Damianos Vainas. ARQIS advised on the German part of the acquisition. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.

“The transaction demonstrates the continued implementation of CRH’s strategy to create value for our shareholders through active portfolio management, efficient capital allocation and the creation of a simpler and more focused group for the future. We wish our colleagues at Europe Distribution every success in entering this new phase of their development,” said Albert Manifold, Chief Executive of CRH.

The divestiture includes CRH’s entire General Builders Merchants business in Europe and the sanitary heating and plumbing business. The sale follows a comprehensive strategic review of the business in recent months, taking into account all options to maximise shareholder value. The proceeds from the sale will be used for general corporate purposes to make acquisitions as part of our ongoing share buyback program and to generate returns on capital to shareholders.

CRH is a leading diversified global building materials group with approximately 85,000 employees at nearly 3,600 locations in 32 countries. With a market capitalization of nearly EUR 23 billion (April 2018), CRH is the largest building materials company in North America and the second largest in the world. The Group has various market-leading positions in Europe and holds strategic positions in the emerging economic regions of Asia and South America.

The ARQIS team around Jörn-Christian Schulze has been advising CRH in various German transactions in the past years.

 

Advisors to CRH:

ARQIS Rechtsanwälte (Düsseldorf/Munich): « Dr. Jörn-Christian Schulze », « Dr. Christof Alexander Schneide» (Both lead; Corporate/M&A); Dr. Andrea Panzer-Heemeier (Labour Law), Johannes Landry (Corporate/M&A), Christian Wegener (Tax), Dr. Ulrich Lienhard (Real Estate), Marcus Nothhelfer (IP/Compliance), Dr. Thomas Görgemanns (Corporate/M&A); Associates: Nima Hanifi-Atashgah, Thomas Chwalek, Malte Griepenburg (all Corporate/M&A), Jennifer Huschauer (Real Estate), Dr. Hendrik von Mellenthin (Labour Law), Dr. Liliia Sagun, Carina Grahs (both Transaction Support Specialists)

RCAA (Frankfurt am Main): Evelyn Niitväli (Merger Control)

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