Cemex to Sell Ohio Assets to Eagle Materials
September 12 2016 - 2:20PM
Dow Jones News
MEXICO CITY—Mexican cement and building materials company Cemex
SAB took another step toward meeting its asset-divestment target
with an agreement to sell a cement plant and terminal in Ohio to
Eagle Materials Inc. for about $400 million.
The sale, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter,
includes a cement plant in Fairborn and a distribution terminal in
Columbus, Cemex said Monday.
The assets are expected to generate $79 million this year in
revenue, and $33 million in operating cash flow measured by
earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or
Ebitda.
Cemex said it would use the money from the sale to pay down debt
and for other purposes. The Monterrey company, one of the world's
largest cement makers, is selling assets to reduce its heavy debt
load as it seeks to recover the investment-grade ratings that it
lost during the 2008-2009 global crisis.
Cemex aims to sell assets for $1.5 billion to $2 billion in
2016-2017. The sales are part of the company's plans to lower debt
by between $3 billion and $3.5 billion in that two-year period. It
recently agreed to sell plants in Texas and New Mexico to Grupo de
Cementos Chihuahua SAB for $306 million.
Dallas-based Eagle Materials said the Fairborn cement plant has
capacity to grind nearly one million tons a year of clinker, and
will increase its cement-making capacity by about 20%. Eagle said
the acquisition will contribute to earnings as soon as the deal
closes, and that it expects around $50 million in tax benefits from
the transaction.
"Our strategy has been to grow the cement side of our business.
The Fairborn plant extends our U.S. cement system and connects but
does not overlap with the market reach of our existing plants,"
said Dave Powers, Eagle's president and chief executive in a
statement from the company.
Eagle, which makes cement and other building materials, said it
would use cash and bank credit to finance the acquisition without
raising its debt-to-Ebitda ratio to more than two times.
The sale is positive for Cemex even though it is in one of its
biggest and currently fastest-growing markets, analysts at Mexico's
Intercam brokerage said in a note to clients.
The assets are far from Cemex's main areas of operations in the
U.S., and don't produce concrete or aggregates. "Besides, it's core
for Eagle Materials so they could pay a higher multiple," they
added.
Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 12, 2016 14:05 ET (18:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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