(MENAFN) The EU said it removed a key hurdle to the merger between French cement giant Lafarge and Swiss rival Holcim by approving the sale of assets and allowing the deal to be completed, The Peninsula Qatar reported.
Lafarge and Holcim agreed to their USD43.48 billion tie-up to form the world's biggest cement firm last year, but EU regulators said they would have to sell assets worth USD7 billion to ease fears the new firm would deform competition.
"CRH's activities overlap with the divested businesses in a number of areas, such as cement, aggregates, ready-mix concrete and asphalt," the European Commission said in a statement.
The new company will be called LafargeHolcim, employing some 136,000 people with annual sales of USD34.79 billion and underlying profits of USD7 billion. The merger still has to be approved by shareholders.
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