HeidelbergCement to sell HDKS business

German and Swiss calcium silicate unit business to be sold to H+H International for €110 million 

HeidelbergCement have signed an agreement with H+H International A/S and their subsidiary H+H Deutschland GmbH to sell their German and Swiss calcium silicate units business, HDKS, for around €110 million. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018.

‘HDKS has a strong market position in the north-east and south-west of Germany, as well as in Switzerland, but the focus of its product portfolio on calcium silicate units is outside the core businesses of HeidelbergCement,’ said Dr Bernd Scheifele, chief executive officer of HeidelbergCement.

‘The disposal is part of our portfolio review and optimization with the goal to generate additional cash flow in order to support our disciplined growth and increase shareholder returns.’

HDKS consist of a number of indirect subsidiaries of HeidelbergCement: Heidelberger Kalksandstein GmbH, KS-Quadro Bausysteme GmbH and Hunziker Kalksandstein AG, together with certain properties owned by subsidiaries of HeidelbergCement AG.

The business operates seven factories in Germany and one close to the German border in Switzerland, and employs approximately 200 full-time employees. HDKS sales in 2017 are estimated at approximately €65 million with an EBITDA margin of around 20%.

H+H, whose core activity is the manufacture and sale of autoclaved aerated concrete or aircrete, achieved revenue of DKK1.6 billion in 2016. The company’s main product is blocks used in the building of new houses, mainly in the low-rise segment.

H+H have 13 aircrete factories in Northern and Central Europe and north-west Russia, with a total output of more than 3 million cubic metres of aircrete a year, and hold a leading position in most of their markets.