Diversified mining major Anglo American on Monday said it planned to sell its 50% interest in the Lafarge Tarmac joint venture (JV) to cement producer Lafarge for £885-million.
Lafarge Tarmac, formed in January 2013, is a 50:50 JV between Lafarge and Anglo American’s construction materials and services businesses in the UK.
The transaction, for which an in-principle agreement had been signed, remained subject to the conclusion of the Lafarge/Holcim merger, which was expected in the first half of 2015.
“Lafarge intends to offer a full divestment of the [Lafarge Tarmac] JV to the European Commission as a remedy for the UK market in respect of the proposed merger of Lafarge and Switzerland-based Holcim,” Anglo American said in a statement, noting that it was a condition of the sale of its interest in the JV that the divestment of Lafarge Tarmac was accepted as a suitable remedy.
Lafarge and Holcim were expected to embark on a series of asset sales across Europe in order to obtain regulatory approval for their merger, which was first announced in April and which would lead to the creation of a cement giant with a yearly turnover of $44-billion.
