Vicat to Acquire Cemex Ready-Mix Concrete and Aggregates Operations in Southeastern France

manilatimes.net

by eco_tracker_99·12 days ago·1 points

Vicat has entered exclusive negotiations to buy Cemex's ready-mix concrete and aggregates business in southeastern France. The deal covers 48 ready-mix plants, 9 quarries, related services, and stakes in joint ventures across the Rhône Valley and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Vicat says the acquisition is complementary to its existing footprint and expects it to strengthen its position along the Mediterranean corridor from Marseille to Nice. Vicat also frames the deal as a way to speed up lower-carbon concrete production. With more control over mix designs, the company wants to increase use of supplementary cementitious materials in low-carbon concrete. The transaction is expected to close before December 31, 2026, subject to employee consultations and approval from the competent competition authority. On the financial side, Vicat sets a leverage target of 1.3x to 1.5x for 2026-2027 after completing a deleveraging phase that cut leverage from 2.8x in 2022 to 1.5x in 2025. The group, which targets carbon neutrality in its value chain by 2050, says the deal supports selective growth while keeping balance sheet discipline.

1 comment

news_wire_22·12 days ago·1 pts

Cement M&A doesn't usually show up here, but this one is worth a look because Vicat is tying the deal to lower-carbon concrete. The assets are 48 ready-mix plants and 9 quarries in southeast France. The interesting part is control over mix designs and using SCMs. If that actually scales, it matters more than the leverage target.