Steel tycoon eyes Anglo-Lafarge disposals
Britain’s richest man believed to be bidding for Tarmac and Lafarge’s UK cement works and quarries
LAKSHMI Mittal, Britain’s richest man, is reportedly bidding to take control of the portfolio of assets put up for sale by Anglo American and Lafarge as part of their proposed UK joint venture.
Sky News has learned that Mr Mittal (pictured) is looking to buy a number of cement plants and quarries which are being sold under orders from the Competition Commission as a pre-condition for approval of the merger of Tarmac, Anglo American’s UK construction materials business, and Lafarge’s UK operations.
Mr Mittal, whose estimated £12.7 billion fortune was generated largely by steel manufacturing, is thought to be bidding through one of his private ventures rather than through ArcelorMittal, the global steel-making giant he heads as chairman and chief executive officer.
If his bid is successful, Mr Mittal would become one of the UK’s biggest construction materials tycoons. However, some think his involvement in the auction could run into difficulties because Bruno Lafont, chairman and chief executive of Lafarge, is also a board member of ArcelorMittal.
The merger of the Tarmac and Lafarge businesses in the UK is expected to create an operation with more than 7,000 employees and an annual turnover of almost £2 billion.
In a statement in May, the Competition Commission said it wanted to see the asset portfolio sold to a single buyer to avoid any diminution of competition in an important industrial market.
Sky News says it is not clear whether Mr Mittal is interested in all of the assets being sold or whether he will look to join forces with another bidder. Breedon Aggregates are believed to be among other possible suitors for the cement plants and quarries.
The other major players in the UK building materials sector – Hanson, part of HeidelbergCement, Aggregate Industries and CEMEX – are not permitted to participate in the auction process on competition grounds.
