FTC Approves Final Order Preserving Competition In Five Regional U.S. Markets for Cement

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final order settling charges that the proposed $4.2 billion merger of German cement producer HeidelbergCement AG and Italian producer Italcementi S.p.A. would likely be anticompetitive.

Under the order, first announced in June 2016, the companies are required to divest to an FTC-approved buyer an Essroc cement plant and quarry in Martinsburg, West Virginia; seven Essroc terminals in Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania; and a Lehigh terminal in Solvay, New York. At the buyer’s option, the order also requires the merged company to divest two additional Essroc terminals in Ohio.

The Commission vote approving the final order was 3-0. (FTC File No. 151 0200; the staff contact James Southworth, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2822)

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