CRH to Buy Arcosa in Building Materials Firm’s Biggest Deal

Building materials group CRH Plc. is reportedly close to finalizing its biggest acquisition to date, aiming to purchase competitor Arcosa Inc. An agreement could be reached as early as next week, according to the Financial Times, which cited people familiar with the matter.

Arcosa, an infrastructure products supplier based in the U.S., currently has a market capitalization nearing $7 billion. When considering Arcosa's debt, the total value of the acquisition could exceed $8 billion, the Financial Times reported. CRH, a serial dealmaker with a market value of $74 billion, has historically focused on expanding its presence in the U.S. construction markets.

This potential deal follows CRH's strategy of boosting its U.S. operations, a pattern seen since its New York Stock Exchange listing in 2017. The acquisition would expand CRH’s portfolio in areas such as aggregates, crushed concrete, and engineered structures for power utilities and telecom infrastructure. If successful, this transaction would rank among CRH's most significant, comparable to its 2015 acquisition of cement assets from Holcim and Lafarge for $6.5 billion.