Company spent record €2.1bn on 31 acquisitions last year

The Republic's biggest plc got even bigger during 2006. Dublin-listed CRH spent a record €2.1 billion on 31 acquisitions, buying businesses across all its European and US territories.

The building materials giant spent close to half this total on just one company, Ashland Paving and Construction (APAC), in the US.

It subsequently sold off some of the company's smaller contracting businesses, but taking these into account, its overall net spend for the year was still €2.1 billion.

With a price tag of €1.01 billion, the APAC purchase was the biggest in CRH's history. The logic behind the deal was threefold.

First, as one of the biggest asphalt producers in the US, it positions CRH to exploit a large-scale Federal road building plan.

Second, it moves the division into new territory in the south western US.

And third, it gives it a platform for further acquisitions in that territory and that sector.

But the group was also on the hunt in Europe, where, during the second half of the year, it spent a total of €166 million on 14 companies and one joint venture.

These included Lurgan, Co Armagh-based Salmor, which supplies accessories to manufacturers of underground cable and water supply networks, and Dublin-based Construction Accessories Ltd.

On the continent itself, its joint venture, Secil, in which it has a 49 per cent holding, mopped up the remaining 50 per cent of Ecorresiduos, a Portuguese ash and slag grinding operation.

It also bought three concrete paving plants from Polish player, Jadar, along with Ukrainian quarry operator, Bhekovsky.

Apart from APAC, CRH spent €214 million in the second half of the year on various other acquisitions in the United States.

Commenting on the deals, CRH chief executive, Liam O'Mahony, said: "Development momentum in 2006 has been very strong with a total 69 acquisitions concluded, including APAC, the largest single transaction completed by the group.

"This record €2.1 billion acquisition spend will be an important factor in further driving growth across all CRH divisions."