The building materials group Heidelberg Materials is strengthening its business in the USA by acquiring three companies for a total of 380 million dollars.

The latest acquisition announced by the DAX-listed company on Tuesday is the Philadelphia-based aggregates and asphalt manufacturer Highway Materials. After synergies, an operating profit of around 50 million dollars is expected. With more than 350 employees, four gravel quarries, asphalt mixing plants and recycling operations, the company is a leading supplier in the region. Heidelberg Materials is also buying the aggregates manufacturer Victory Rock and the building materials producer Aaron Materials, both of which are based in the US state of Texas.

The acquisitions will optimize the portfolio in a core market and expand the range of recycling products, explained Heidelberg Materials. Three years ago, the Kurpfalz-based company scaled back its US business with the sale of cement factories in the west of the USA for 2.3 billion dollars.

(Report by Ilona Wissenbach. Edited by Olaf Brenner. If you have any queries, please contact the editorial team at frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com)