CRH considers Tarmac bid

CRH has indicated that it would consider bidding for Tarmac after posting strong interim results.

The Ireland-based building materials supplier spent £1.42bn on acquisitions in 2006 and has spent a further £677m already this year, but at an expected £3bn Tarmac would be its largest ever transaction.

Since Hanson was taken over by HeidelbergCement, Tarmac has become one of the last remaining UK building materials companies. It is expected that alongside CRH it will attract bids from Lafarge and Holcim, while Cemex and Aggregate Industries are unlikely to be in the running due to competition issues.

CRH saw pre-tax profits rise 27% to £454m for the first half of the year despite the slowdown in the US housing market. Operating profit in Europe increased by 50% to £335m, while contributions by new acquisitions in North America offset the housing slowdown and weak dollar. Group revenue rose 21% to £6.6bn.