U.S. Concrete, CRH continue acquisition activity

U.S. Concrete Inc. and CRH PLC, which both recently announced major acquisitions, are reportedly in the process of completing more deals.

U.S. Concrete says its wholly owned subsidiary, NorCal Materials Inc., has acquired the assets of two independently owned and operated ready-mixed concrete operations – Harbor Ready-Mix and A-1 Materials Inc. The acquisitions include two ready-mixed concrete batch plants and 23 mixer trucks. The acquisitions also include the assets of L.C. Frey Co. Inc., a landscape materials business related to A-1’s operations.

Both ready-mixed concrete operations serve the commercial and residential sectors in the Peninsula and South Bay areas of San Francisco. These plants give U.S. Concrete increased capacity to serve an expanded customer base in the Northern California market.

“These acquisitions are indicative of our team’s ability to find and integrate high-quality businesses in attractive markets,” says U.S. Concrete President, CEO and Vice Chairman William J. Sandbrook. “Expanding our market presence and diversifying our customer base in this vibrant and growing market is very exciting. Pent up demand from recent weather delays and a significantly undersupplied residential housing market will allow us to gain immediate traction for long-term success.”

The company says it has also acquired the assets of Action Supply Co. Inc., which supplies the Philadelphia metropolitan area with ready-mixed concrete for commercial and infrastructure construction projects. Action’s proximity to U.S. Concrete’s recently acquired aggregates production facility, Corbett Aggregates Companies, offers immediate synergies from the vertical integration of fine aggregate.

Action’s well-known projects in Philadelphia include Lincoln Financial Field, Citizens Bank Park, FMC Tower and the South Street bridge replacement.

“This acquisition continues our strategy of finding great businesses in new markets with future bolt-on and consolidation opportunities,” Sandbrook says. “The Philadelphia metro market is a mature and stable market with many of the same attributes of our other successful markets.”

In other acquisitions news, Bloomberg reports that Ireland’s CRH PLC is nearing an agreement to acquire Florida-based cement company Suwannee American Cement LLC from Votorantim Cimentos SA and Anderson Columbia Co.

Sources tell Bloomberg that the companies could announce an agreement as early as this week.  The deal may value Suwannee at about $750 million, says the report, and while talks are advanced, they could still be delayed, fall apart or the valuation could change.

Last month, CRH agreed to buy family-owned Ash Grove Cement Co. in a $3.5 billion deal.