The owners of Texas Industries Inc. (TXI) are exploring a sale of the Dallas-based company, reported Bloomberg, citing three people with knowledge of the matter.
According to Bloomberg’s sources, the cement company is working with Citigroup Inc. to find a buyer. The sources also stated that the sale may draw interest from competitors including Vulcan Materials Co. and Holcim.
Southeastern Asset Management Inc. and NNS Holding, the two largest shareholders, have been looking to sell their stakes for some time, though they may struggle to get a price they deem sufficient, one person said. The two investors combined own more than 51 percent of the company, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
TXI, whose operations in Texas and California put it in the two largest U.S. cement markets, is benefiting from a construction rebound. Additionally, a 1.4 Mt/year second kiln at the company’s Hunter plant has enabled TXI to report a turnaround in profit: TXI’s EBITDA more than doubled to $37.8 million in the three months through August on higher sales, the company said in October.
For Holcim, a purchase of TXI would give the Switzerland-based company a stronger foothold in North America, where it got only 15 percent of its $21.5 billion in revenue in 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
