Anglo American confirms sale of 50% interest in Lafarge Tarmac

GLOBAL mining group Anglo American has confirmed the sale of its 50% stake in Lafarge Tarmac to Lafarge.

In an announcement to the London Stock Exchange this morning it said it has reached a binding agreement to sell its 50% ownership interest in Lafarge Tarmac Holdings Limited to Lafarge SA for a minimum value of £885m in cash, on a debt and cash free basis and subject to other customary working capital adjustments.

Cement business Lafarge Tarmac, which is based in Solihull, was formed as a 50:50 joint venture between Lafarge UK and Anglo American’s Tarmac business.

The sale of Anglo American’s stake is likely to pave the way for the sale of the UK subsidiary, necessary steps if Lafarge is to complete its planned merger with rival Holcim.

Lafarge and Holcim need to shed assets to help persuade competition regulators to back the proposed merger that was unveiled in April and would create the world’s biggest cement maker with £26bn in annual sales.