Cementos Argos Finalizes $660 Million USD Deal for U.S. Production Plant in West Virginia

Last week, Cementos Argos formally took over a large production plant in Martinsburg, West Virginia. This further expands the North American footprint of Colombia’s largest cement and concrete company, which is now one of the leading suppliers of both products in the United States.

Cementos Argo paid a reported $660 million USD to German cement giant HeidelbergCement for the plant and its eight cement shipping and receiving terminals in a transaction that was first announced in August. The plant has an installed capacity of 2.2 million tons of cement and 1.6 million tons of “clinker” cement per year, according to Colombian business magazine Portafolio.

“We are pleased to announce the formal closing of this transaction and the start of operations of the new cement plant and its terminals under our culture and business model,” said Juan Esteban Calle, president of Cementos Argos, last week. “We welcome 200 new collaborators to Argos. This acquisition not only strengthens our internationalization strategy, but also enables us to incorporate knowledge as well as generate greater synergies and efficiencies.”

Cementos Argos reported a 27% growth in revenues over the first half of 2016 compared to the same period last year, per Portafolio. This included a 29% spike in cement and 11% jump in concrete in North America.

HeidelbergCement’s sale of the plant was part of a requirement by U.S. regulators after it acquired a 45% stake in Italian cement company Italcementi. “With the disposal of the U.S. assets, we fulfill the obligation of the Federal Trade Commission and improve the net financial position of HeidelbergCement after the acquisition of Italcementi,” said Bernd Scheifele, chief executive officer of HeidelbergCement.