LafargeHolcim

LafargeHolcim Ltd
Public
Traded as SIX: LHN
Euronext: LHN
CAC 40 Component
Industry Building materials
Founded 10 July 2015 (10 July 2015)
Headquarters Jona, Switzerland
Number of locations
 100 countries
Key people
 Jan Jenisch (CEO)
Beat W. Hess
(Chairman)
Products Cement, aggregates, concrete
Revenue 29 Bn CHF (2015)[1]
251 million CHF (2015)[1]
-1,361 million CHF (2015)[1]
Total assets 73,298 million CHF (2015)[1]
Total equity 35,722 million CHF (2015)[1]
Number of employees
 100,000 (2015)[1]
Subsidiaries
Website www.lafargeholcim.com

LafargeHolcim Ltd is a Swiss multinational company that manufactures building materials (primarily cement, aggregates and concrete), with a presence in around 80 countries and 81,000 employees. It was formed by the merger on 10 July 2015, of cement companies Lafarge and Holcim, which had combined net sales of CHF 26 billion in 2017.

History

On 7 April 2014, Lafarge and Holcim announced a merger project to create LafargeHolcim. With a combined market value exceeding $50 billion, the merger was the second largest announced worldwide in 2014.[2] It was early recognised that a merger of this scale would raise regulatory concerns.

The planned divestments account for between 10 and 15% of the companies' current EBITDA,[3] while the deal was expected to save the company 1.4 billion euros (US$1.9 billion) annually and create "the most advanced group in the building materials industry."[4]

On 10 July 2015, Lafarge and Holcim completed the merger and created LafargeHolcim.[5] On 15 July 2015, the new LafargeHolcim Group was officially launched.[6] In June 2016, Le Monde reported that Lafarge paid taxes to ISIS middlemen in 2013 to 2014 to keep using their factory in Jalabiya, Northeastern Syria.[7][8][9]

The former CEO, Eric Olsen, resigned in April 2017 because of the "strong tensions" incurred by the news.[10] However, an investigation conducted by Baker McKenzie concluded Olsen was not responsible for the payments.[11] Instead, Mediapart suggested Jean-Claude Veillard, the director of security for Lafarge and a former candidate for the National Front, was aware of the payments.[12]

Meanwhile, Sherpa filed a lawsuit against Lafarge over the payments.[12]

In March 2017, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault criticized LafargeHolcim for competing to build the wall on the Mexico-United States border promised by President Donald Trump.[13] They were also criticized by presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron.[14]

Meanwhile, the city of Paris discontinued their contract with LafargeHolcim to build Paris-Plages because of the Trump Wall proposal; the company had been building the beaches for free since 2002.[15]

Group

LafargeHolcim operates in around eighty countries, and focuses on cement, aggregates, ready mix and solutions & products. The group has 81,000 employees around the world, and combined net sales of CHF 26 billion in 2017. The group's central functions had been divided between Zurich and Paris until the end of 2018, but are currently being transferred to the Swiss cities of Holderbank and Zug.[16]

The company's research facilities are in l'Isle d'Abeau, near Lyon, France.

Management

Jan Jenisch took over as CEO of LafargeHolcim on 1 September 2017.[17] Beat Hess is the chairman of the Board of Directors.

Members of the Executive Committee are formally appointed by the Board of Directors:[18]

  • Jan Jenisch, Chief Executive Officer
  • Géraldine Picaud, Chief Financial Officer
  • Marcel Cobuz, Member (Europe)
  • René Thibault, Member (North America)
  • Saâd Sebbar, Member (Middle East Africa)
  • Martin Kriegner, Member (Asia excl. China)
  • Oliver Osswald, Member (Latin America)
  • Urs Bleisch, Member (Growth & Performance)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 http://www.lafargeholcim.com/lafargeholcim-at-a-glance. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ↑ Patrick Winters; Francois de Beaupuy (April 7, 2014). "Holcim to Merge With Lafarge to Form Biggest Cement Maker". Bloomberg. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  3. ↑ Natalie Huet; Caroline Copley (April 7, 2014). "Holcim, Lafarge agree to merger to create cement giant". Reuters. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  4. ↑ David Jolly (April 7, 2014). "Antitrust Hurdles Loom Large for Giant Concrete Merger". New York Times. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Holcim and Lafarge complete merger and create LafargeHolcim, a new leader in the building materials industry". LafargeHolcim.com. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "A new leader for a new world: LafargeHolcim officially launched around the globe". LafargeHolcim.com. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  7. ↑ Ayad, Christophe; Guibert, Nathalie; Kaval, Allan; Kellou, Dorothée Myriam; Zerrouky, Madjid (June 21, 2016). "Syrie : les troubles arrangements de Lafarge avec l'Etat islamique". Le Monde. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  8. ↑ "French cement maker Lafarge 'made deals with IS group in Syria'". France 24. June 22, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  9. ↑ Bouaziz, Franck (April 25, 2017). "Comment Lafarge s'est pris les pieds dans le ciment". Libération. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  10. ↑ Baghdijan, Alice (April 24, 2017). "LafargeHolcim CEO's Resignation on Syria Creates Power Vacuum". Bloomberg. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  11. ↑ Bayart, Bertille (April 24, 2017). "Le patron de LafargeHolcim quitte le groupe". Le Figaro. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  12. 1 2 de Boni, Marc (May 3, 2017). "Un ex-candidat du FN impliqué dans les relations troubles entre Lafarge et Daech". Le Figaro. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  13. ↑ "French minister rebukes LafargeHolcim over Trump wall comment". Reuters. March 9, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  14. ↑ Dalton, Matthew (March 10, 2017). "LafargeHolcim Faces Warnings on Providing Cement for U.S. Border Wall". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  15. ↑ Baghdijan, Alice; Nussbaum, Ania (March 29, 2017). "Paris Boycotts LafargeHolcim in Protest Over Trump's Mexico Wall". Bloomberg. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  16. ↑ Revill, John. "LafargeHolcim to close Paris, Zurich head offices, axing 200 jobs". U.S. Retrieved 2018-10-12.
  17. ↑ "UPDATE 2-Cement group LafargeHolcim cuts global demand outlook". Reuters. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  18. ↑ "Executive Committee". LafargeHolcim.com.
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