(Reuters) – Swiss building materials giant Holcim is nearing an agreement to separate its North American operations worth more than $30 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
The newspaper, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that a deal could be announced next week if plans don't fall apart at the last minute.
Holcim did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
Holcim has nearly 350 locations in 43 U.S. states and employs 7,000 people, according to the company's website.
The Swiss company announced last July that North America was expected to account for about 40% of group sales, rising to about $12 billion from $10 billion a year ago.
Swiss cement makers are hoping for new business in the U.S. from manufacturers who are moving production domestically to avoid supply chain disruptions and taking advantage of government subsidies.
Holcim's European regional director told Reuters this month that North America remains an attractive market for Holcim's investments and acquisitions.
“Currently, 40% of our business is in North America. And we have been located in North America for the past 50-plus years. So we have a very strong geographic footprint in the United States as well as Canada. ” Mirjan Gutovic said in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
“We're doing a lot of work across North America to increase our ability to debottleneck our factories. We're also looking at M&A,” Gutovich added.
(Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Cawthorn and Nick McPhee)
