LafargeHolcim to Buy Bridgestone Unit in $3.4 Billion U.S. Push

(Bloomberg) -- ​​​​​LafargeHolcim Ltd. is buying Bridgestone Corp.’s Firestone Building Products unit for $3.4 billion as the world’s largest cement maker seeks growth in the U.S. after years of downsizing.

The transaction will be financed with cash and debt, LafargeHolcim said Thursday. The deal, which is expected to close in the first half, will be earnings-per-share accretive from the first year, it said.

The Bridgestone unit is part of the Japanese industrial conglomerate’s North American division and makes roofing systems for commercial markets.

The deal comes after LafargeHolcim’s Chief Executive Officer Jan Jenisch, who was hired in 2017 to clean up the botched Swiss-French merger of Holcim Ltd. and Lafarge SA, slashed costs and sold assets in Southeast Asia. The U.S. acquisition reduces the company’s exposure to emerging markets, while expanding the solutions and products unit created in 2018.

Analysts previously said the Swiss firm, which reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, had the resources to buy the Bridgestone unit. Still, they warned benefits might be limited as the business doesn’t seem to fit in with its core cement and aggregates operations.

Kingspan Group Plc and Standard Industries Inc. were among final suitors for Firestone Building Products before dropping out of the bidding, people with knowledge of the matter have said.

Bloomberg News reported on Jan. 4 that LafargeHolcim and Bridgestone were in advanced talks.

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