Holcim to spin off North American business through New York listing

Swiss manufacturer of building materials and one of the world’s largest cement producers Holcim announced about the upcoming separation of its North American business. The spin-off will be accomplished through the listing of 100% of the North American division’s shares on the New York Stock Exchange. According to Holcim CEO Jan Jaenisch, the division could be valued at $30 billion. These are the largest changes in the structure of the Swiss company since 2015, when Holcim completed the deal mergers with the French company Lafarge.

Holcim management estimates that by 2030, the American division will significantly increase sales – from the current $11 billion to more than $20 billion per year. Operating income is expected to reach more than $5 billion by 2030. Holcim is now the largest cement producer in the United States. There the company has 850 production facilities employing 16 thousand people. Mr Jaenisch said the US unit was “simply too successful to remain a unit” and the spin-off would allow it to benefit from the US infrastructure and construction boom.

Completion of the placement on the stock exchange is planned for the first half of 2025, with preliminary approval of this procedure at the general meeting of shareholders in the first quarter of the same year. The remaining Holcim divisions will remain listed in Switzerland.

Simultaneously Holcim announced about the upcoming change of general director. From May 1, this post will be taken over by Miljan Gutović, who currently heads the European branch of Holcim. However, Jan Jenisch, who was appointed CEO in 2017, will retain his post as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Holcim and will directly oversee the separation of the North American division and its listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

Alena Miklashevskaya