Boral’s announced agreement to sell its North American fly ash business to Eco Materials Technologies will see it exit North America.
The sale consideration for the fly ash business of $USD755 million ($AUD1 billion), will result in Boral divesting its North American businesses for more than $AUD4 billion ($USD3 billion), including its North American Building Products business and stake in Meridian Brick.
Boral chief executive officer and managing director Zlatko Todorcevski said Boral had sought the most suitable candidate for the business.
“We have undertaken a rigorous and competitive process to determine the best outcome for Boral in relation to the fly ash business and we are pleased to announce an agreement to sell the business to Eco Material Technologies (EMT),” he said.
EMT, which is backed by private equity firms One Equity Partners and Quadrant Management, will become the owner of a leading fly ash source in the United States.
“Eco Material Technologies is dedicated to decarbonising the materials industry through scalable and proven technological solutions,” said EMT director Grant Quasha.
As with Boral’s previous sales in recent months, the company will decide the best way to return the net proceeds from the sale, after considering its reinvestment needs, to shareholders.
Todorcevski said the strategy to hone Boral’s focus in Australia had continued according to plan.
“For Boral’s shareholders, we have now unlocked substantial value through a successful divestment program,” he said.
“This is a significant milestone that supports our strategy to refocus on our construction materials business in Australia.”
He concluded by recognising the contribution the fly ash business and its employees had made to Boral.
“As was the case with building products in the US, Boral has owned and operated fly ash businesses in the US for some 40 years,” he said.
“It has been an important part of Boral’s history and we recognise and value the contribution our employees and customers in North America have made to Boral over that time.
“This change of ownership to Eco Materials Technologies, which is focused on growing the business, will be a positive outcome for our people and customers in the fly ash business.”
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