Acquistion will create second largest materials group in the world with 拢10.3bn revenue

Hanson has accepted an 拢8bn takeover offer from Austrian giant HeidelbergCement.

Alan Murray
Alan Murray will join the top management team at HeidelbergCement

The companies鈥� boards announced this morning that they had reached agreement on an offer of 1100 pence per share, valuing Hanson at approximately 拢8bn. Hanson was the only remaining large independent materials supplier in the UK.

The combined group will be the second largest in its sector in the world, with combined revenues of approximately euro 15 billion (拢10.3bn) and over 70,000 employees.

Alan Murray, the CEO of Hanson, will join the top management team at HeidelbergCement. He is likely to have responsibility for US and Australian operations.

It is expected that the acquisition, which will be made by HeidelbergCement subsidiary Lehigh UK, will complete during the third quarter.