Kirkland & Ellis is guiding building materials and services giant CRH on its $8.5bn acquisition of peer Arcosa, counselled by Gibson Dunn and Baker Botts.
The all-cash deal will boost Dublin-based CRH’s exposure to rising US infrastructure demand. The company is offering $150 per share for Arcosa, a 10.4% premium to its Thursday close, according to Reuters.
Kirkland’s team is led by New York corporate partners Sarkis Jebejian and Keri Schick Norton and capital markets partner Bob Hayward.
Meanwhile, Gibson Dunn’s team is headed by Dallas-based partners Robert Little, global co-chair of the firm’s M&A practice, and Joe Orien. Between them, the duo have advised Arcosa on numerous previous deals, including its acquisition of infrastructure products provider Cherry Industries and the disposition of its international storage tanks business.
Earlier this year, Kirkland was across the table from CRH when it advised KKR on the sale of its water quality solutions business Axius Water to the company, a serial dealmaker that has spent more than $9bn on nearly 80 acquisitions over the past two years.
CRH turned to Irish heavyweight Arthur Cox for its biggest previous deal – the €6.5bn purchase of the cement assets of European rivals Holcim and Lafarge ahead of their merger, a deal that turned CRH into a much larger player. Morgan Lewis advised it on the global merger control and antitrust aspects of the deal.
Its acquisition of Arcosa brings CRH more than 100 quarries and yards and nine asphalt plants, as well as infrastructure products used in the high-growth energy transmission market.
Jim Mintern, CRH CEO, said the deal reinforced its position as a leading infrastructure player in North America.
“As demand for US energy and utility infrastructure solutions accelerates, this transaction places CRH at the forefront of an immense growth opportunity and demonstrates our commitment to building market-leading positions through disciplined capital allocation,” he added.
The transaction continues a string of deals in the US building-products industry, driven by massive federal infrastructure funding and a surge in non-residential megaprojects like data centres and renewable energy plants.
Earlier this year, QXO struck a $17bn deal to acquire building products distributor and installer TopBuild, counselled by Paul Weiss and Jones Day, respectively. Last year, Akin also advised Commercial Metals Company on its $1.9bn acquisition of concrete supplier Foley Products, counselled by Foley & Lardner.
JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley are acting as financial advisors to CRH. Evercore and Goldman Sachs are serving as financial advisors to Arcosa.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to approval of Arcosa’s stockholders, regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
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