By Cris Larano

MANILA--Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV.PH) said Friday it signed a deal with CRH Plc, which when completed would allow it to join the Irish building materials company in investing in the Philippine cement plants of Lafarge SA.

CRH had earlier agreed to buy for $7.34 billion cement assets from Lafarge and Holcim Ltd., whose asset divestments are part of preconditions to winning regulatory approval for their merger. Both Lafarge and Holcim have cement assets in the Philippines.

Aboitiz Equity said it plans to join CRH in acquiring a majority of the shares of Lafarge Republic, Inc. and the shares in Luzon Continental Land Corp. and Lafarge Cement Services Philippines, Inc., which constitute the majority of Lafarge's local cement operations.

Aboitiz Equity president Erramon Aboitiz said if the deal with CRH is finalized, it will provide it with an investment that dovetails with its plan to invest in infrastructure development. The company is already in banking, property development, food manufacturing and power generation and distribution.

"Venturing into infrastructure meets our growth criteria. We are very optimistic of the potential gains this new core business will bring to the Group amid the huge demand for infrastructure in the Philippines," Mr. Aboitiz said in a statement.

The conclusion of deal is subject to the successful completion of the merger between Lafarge and Holcim as well as approval by the boards of both CRH and Aboitiz Equity.

Write to Cris Larano at cris.larano@dowjones.com

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