Holcim-Lafarge Merger Dispute Puts Outsider CRH’s Goals at Risk

A widening rift between European cement makers Holcim Ltd. and Lafarge SA may claim a victim in CRH Plc, an Irish building-materials supplier that’s tied its global ambition to the completion of their $40 billion merger.

Dublin-based CRH last month agreed to spend 6.5 billion euros ($6.9 billion) on assets that Holcim and Lafarge needed to sell for antitrust approval, in an effort to expand in countries including Brazil, Canada and the Philippines. CRH’s biggest-ever deal would boost its sales by about 28 percent, prompting Chief Executive Officer Albert Manifold to call the transaction “a key part of the growth and future strategy.”