Martin Marietta to buy Lhoist North America in $13.5 billion deal

By Anshuman Tripathy

June 29 (Reuters) - Martin ‌Marietta Materials said ​on ​Monday it would merge with limestone supplier Lhoist North America in a cash-and-stock deal worth $13.5 billion, as the building materials ‌firm looks to tap growing demand for lime products.

Shares of ⁠the Raleigh, North Carolina-based company were down 5% in morning trade.

Martin Marietta will use a ‌mix of $7 billion in cash ‌along with shares valued at $6.5 billion to fund the deal, the company said. It expects to realize about $85 million in annual run-rate ​cost synergies.

CEO Ward Nye said demand for high-quality lime products is expected to remain resilient for decades to come, due to investment in ⁠infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, energy development and industrial expansion in the U.S.

There has been a surge in ​dealmaking in the U.S. building-products industry as the data center construction business booms, along with new housing, repairs and ​renovations.

Last week, Ireland's CRH said it would ‌acquire Arcosa in an all-cash deal valued at about $8.5 billion, in a bid to capitalize on rising demand for ⁠U.S. energy and utility infrastructure.

Lhoist's Berghmans family - which owns Belgian industrial company Lhoist Group - would own roughly 15% of Martin Marietta upon the deal's close.

The transaction would ⁠add quarries, production facilities, distribution terminals and 2 billion tons of limestone reserves in ​Sun Belt metropolitan corridors to Martin Marietta's portfolio.

Morgan Stanley analyst Angel Castillo said while the deal adds more end markets and some complexity, it comes with material ‌expansion into attractive infrastructure markets which "we view as a high-quality form of diversification."

Lhoist North America makes hi-calcium lime, dolomitic ‌lime and industrial mineral products used in domestic steel manufacturing, infrastructure and ⁠heavy non-residential construction across North ‌America.

The deal is expected to ​be completed in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy in Bengaluru; Editing by ‌Devika Syamnath)

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