Cement maker Cemex SAB de CV says it is a growing global building materials company serving customers in more than 50 countries. From 1995 to 2001, the Mexican giant did 25 acquisitions, anticipating growth in the sector. Last year, it
spent $16 billion on Australia's Rinker Ltd., which had 80% of its operations in the U.S. Now,
Cemex faces a battered U.S. housing market and a slowdown in key European markets such as Spain, where cement volumes slumped 26% in the second quarter, Reuters reports.
In November, Cemex sold assets in Arizona and Florida totaling $250 million in accordance with a request from the DOJ regarding the Rinker acquisition. Now with the market downturn, Cemex has put up a few more "for sale" signs to reduce debt. In March, it
sold 90% of its stake in telecom company Axtel for $257 million. In May, it hired Morgan Stanley to advise on the sale of assets in Austria, Hungary and select building products in the U.K.
Last week, Cemex
sold its Austrian and Hungarian operations to Strabag SE, a European construction and building materials group, for €310 million ($485 million ). And on Wednesday, Cemex tapped Merrill Lynch & Co. to advise it on a sale of certain assets in Australia, which generate revenues of about A$255 million ($234 million).
In 2004 CD magazine ran a big feature on how the global cement giant
manages post-merger integration. The story now is one of restructuring during tough times. -
Baz HiralalCemex eyes Australia asset sales to reduce debt2004 Magazine Feature:
Global integration the Cemex way
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