Aboitiz to gobble Lafarge

 Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. and a unit of Irish building materials company CRH Plc. are in a joint venture to buy out the minority shareholders of Lafarge Republic, Inc.

AEV CRH Holdings, Inc. made an offer to minority shareholders of Lafarge owning 649.08 million common shares, or 11.15% of the company’s total issued and outstanding capital stock, at a price of P10.26 per share, it said in a regulatory filing.

AEV CRH is a 60-40 joint venture between AEV and Cement Roadstone Holdings, Inc., a domestic firm and wholly-owned subsidiary of CRH Philippines Holdings BV. CRH Philippines is a Dutch company and an affiliate of CRH International.

LRI may delist from the registry of the Philippine Stock Exchange depending on the results of the tender offer, according to the filing.

CRH was given on Jan. 31 the right to acquire 88.85% of Lafarge Republic, subject to certain requirements, as part of an agreement with the parent firms of Holcim Philippines, Inc. and Lafarge.

The execution of the agreement would be subject to CRH finding a local partner and the completion of a tender offer.

CRH signed a partnership with AEV on July 22 and established the joint venture company to acquire the shares sold by the majority shareholders of LRI and the publicly held shares.  –End-