{"text":[[{"start":12.95,"text":"Building materials group CRH has agreed to acquire its competitor Arcosa in an $8.5bn deal that marks the Irish company’s largest-ever takeover and will expand its market position in the US."}],[{"start":25.85,"text":"CRH and Arcosa announced the all-cash deal on Monday, confirming an earlier FT report. CRH will pay Arcosa investors $150 a share, valuing the group at $8.5bn including debt."}],[{"start":40.05,"text":"Arcosa stock closed 6.7 per cent higher at $144.90 on in Monday in New York, giving the group a $7.1bn market capitalisation. CRH shares finished fractionally lower."}],[{"start":54.5,"text":"Dallas-based Arcosa operates across segments including construction products and engineered structures. Shares in the group had risen more than 10 per cent over the past month before the deal was announced."}],[{"start":66.4,"text":"An acquisition of Arcosa, which has about $2.9bn in annual sales and more than 6,000 employees, would give CRH construction products including aggregates and crushed concrete, which could benefit from US infrastructure spending. The Irish company would also add engineered structures for power utilities, telecom towers and lighting poles. "}],[{"start":89.4,"text":"“This transaction is a powerful validation of the work we’ve done in recent years to grow in attractive markets, simplify our portfolio, reduce cyclicality and build a more resilient business,” said Arcosa chief executive Antonio Carrillo."}],[{"start":105.35000000000001,"text":"CRH is a serial dealmaker. The Dublin-based company moved its listing to New York, where it has a market value of about $73bn, to benefit from higher valuations and big building demand in the US. "}],[{"start":118.95,"text":"The acquisition of Arcosa is CRH’s biggest yet. The building-materials company in 2015 paid €6.5bn to buy cement assets that Holcim and Lafarge had to sell ahead of their merger that created the world’s biggest cement company."}],[{"start":135,"text":"“As demand for US energy and utility infrastructure solutions accelerates, this transaction places CRH at the forefront of an immense growth opportunity,” said chief executive Jim Mintern."}],[{"start":146.75,"text":"The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals."}],[{"start":153.85,"text":"JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley were financial advisers to CRH and are providing committed bridge financing for the transaction, while Kirkland & Ellis provided legal counsel. Evercore and Goldman Sachs advised Arcosa, along with law firms Gibson Dunn and Baker Botts."}],[{"start":179.79999999999998,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1782184823_4562.mp3"}