- Trading in CRH (CRH +2.9%) is halted after Reuters reports that the Irish building materials company and a consortium led by Blackstone (NYSE:BX) will battle for the assets which Lafarge (OTC:LFGEF) and Holcim (OTCPK:HCMLF) must sell ahead of their planned merger, Reuters reports.
- A source reportedly considers CRH the front runner after placing the highest offer for the assets with a €6B bid ($6.9B).
- France's Lafarge and Swiss peer Holcim announced merger plans last year that would create the world's biggest cement maker with $44B in annual sales.