Lafarge/Holcim: Blackstone consortium lining up EUR 4.5bn debt to finance bid for assets
A consortium led by Blackstone Group is working on securing EUR 4.5bn of debt to finance a bid for assets to be divested by the cement groups Lafarge and Holcim, according to a newswire report. A Reuters report on Thursday afternoon, 22 January cited bankers who said the debt financing is equivalent to about 5.5 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of around EUR 725m to EUR 730m.
The private equity firm Cinven and Canada Pension Plan are the other members of the Blackstone consortium, the item said. The consortium has offered EUR 5.5bn for the assets, according to a source cited by the report.
People familiar with the matter said the Irish building materials group CRH is bidding against the Blackstone consortium.
Another source cited buy the report said a consortium of the buyout group CVC and the sovereign wealth funds GIC and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority was continuing to conduct due diligence ahead of a potential bid.
One of the people familiar with the matter said Lafarge and Holcim have yet to choose a bidder to enter exclusive talks, but added that they may choose an exclusive bidder within days.
CRH is considered the leading bidder, with an offer of EUR 6bn, according to one source cited by the report.
Holcim, Lafarge, CRH, Cinven, CPP and CVC refused to comment, while GIC and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority could not be reached immediately for comment, the item said.