The Irish corporation CRH has decided to strengthen its presence in the Ukrainian market despite the presence of military risks. This was reported by Komersant ukrainskyi
with reference to the an article by delo.ua.
The company already has assets in Ukraine and now plans to acquire two cement plants, Volyn Cement and Yugcement. This deal should help strengthen the Ukrainian construction materials market and will not lead to increased competition.
The deal between CRH and Italian company Buzzi, which includes Ukrainian assets, has received approval from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine. In June 2023, Buzzi agreed to sell part of its Eastern European business to CRH through its subsidiary Dyckerhoff GmbH.
The amount of the deal has not been announced, but CRH President Guillaume Cavalier said earlier that the company is ready to invest at least €100 million in the Ukrainian cement market. The Ukrainian market needs investment to produce 15 million tonnes of cement needed to recover from the war.
Experts estimate the value of the deal at around $100-150 million, depending on the condition of the plant and its production lines. The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine requires the transfer of 25-28% of the shares in Dickergoff Cement Ukraine to an independent investor. CRH is to sell or transfer these assets to a third party unrelated to CRH UKRAINE B.V. to ensure that key management decisions are blocked.
However, as noted in the article, the Italian company Buzzi was included in the list of international sponsors of the war by the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption. Despite the lack of operational involvement in Russian business, Buzzi Russia continued to expand after the annexation of Crimea and the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
It is expected that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will become an investor in the process of purchasing Buzzi’s assets in Ukraine. CRH is also obliged to submit reports to the AMCU on production and prices in the domestic market for five years.
CRH in Ukraine: pros and cons for the domestic market
It is worth noting that at the end of April 2024, the Head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak met the delegation was headed by the group’s Chief Operating Officer Randy Lake and included Peter Buckley, President of CRH Europe, and Guillaume Cavalier, Director of CRH Southern and Eastern Europe.
He noted that our state is ready to facilitate investments from such powerful global players in every possible way and discuss all necessary issues with foreign and domestic businesses.
“For our part – the President, the Office, the Government of Ukraine – we are ready to fully support you. We are interested in such large investors working in our country and having comfortable conditions. It is very important that despite all the circumstances, the war, you are here and ready to continue working,” Yermak said at the time.
As of now, CRH plans to acquire two cement plants in Ukraine, located in Khmelnytsky and Lviv regions. This deal will allow CRH to strengthen its position in the Ukrainian market and expand its construction materials product line. Market experts believe that the deal will be a positive development for Ukrainian businesses and the economy as a whole.
The corporation plans to invest in the modernisation of production facilities, save jobs and improve working conditions for employees. Such investments can help Ukrainian production reach pre-war capacity and meet the growing demand for construction materials in the post-war period.
According to experts, the purchase of two CRH plants will be an important event for the cement market in Ukraine. The plants will be modernised to European standards, which will help increase cement production in the face of an expected shortage after the war. In addition, CRH produces not only cement but also asphalt concrete, which may be important for the post-war recovery.
Overall, the acquisition of CRH’s cement plants in Ukraine is seen as an important step for the development of the Ukrainian construction sector. CRH will invest in modernisation, improved working conditions and further development of construction materials production. This will help Ukrainian companies reach a new level and meet the expected growth in demand after the war.
What you need to know about CRH
Cement Roadstone Holding (CRH) is an international group of companies of companies in the building materials industry that manufacture and supply a wide range of products to the construction industry. The company is registered in Ireland.
The company was founded in 1970 in Ireland through the merger of two state-owned companies Cement Limited (founded in 1936) and Roadstone Limited (founded in 1949). At the time of formation, the company was the only cement producer in Ireland and the main supplier of crushed stone, asphalt and cement products.
The company is developing in three main areas:
- Production of industrial building materials
- Production of consumer building materials
- Distribution of building materials
CRH operates in 32 countries and employs around 90,000 people in more than 3,700 locations. CRH is the largest construction company in North America, a regional leader in Europe and has strategic positions in Asia.
CRH in Ukraine operates in three areas:
- cement production
- production of concrete and reinforced concrete products;
- crushed stone production;
The holding entered Ukraine in 1999 by acquiring a majority stake in Podilskyi Cement PJSC (Kamianets-Podilskyi, Khmelnytskyi region), where a modern dry kiln with a capacity of 7.5 thousand tonnes of clinker per day was commissioned in 2011. In the same year, the company bought a controlling stake in Cement LLC (Odesa), and in September 2013 – in Mykolaivcement PJSC (Lviv region).