Holcim Agrees to Buy Xella in $2.2 Billion Walls, Roofs Deal
(Bloomberg) — Holcim Ltd. is set to acquire walling-systems firm Xella from private equity firm Lone Star Funds in a €1.85 billion ($2.2 billion) deal, extending the Swiss company’s bid to diversify beyond its core cement business.
The deal, announced Monday, is Holcim’s largest since the $3.4 billion purchase of Firestone Building Products in 2021 and will expand its building solutions business following the spinoff of its North American cement unit. Holcim has been betting on more expensive, sustainable products to bolster margins.
Xella, whose brands include Ytong, Silka, Hebel and Multipor, will strengthen Holcim’s walling and roofing business in Europe — its largest market geographically. Europe’s walling market is worth more than €12 billion and is set to reach €16 billion by the end of the decade, the company said.
The deal also increases Holcim’s exposure to the German residential market, which is poised for an upturn, Vontobel analyst Mark Diethelm said in a note.
The shares rose as much as 2.5% in Zurich on Monday, extending Holcim’s year-to-date advance to about 52%. Earlier this year, the company spun off its North American operations to create a dual listing between Switzerland and the US. The new, Amrize Ltd., is the largest cement provider in the US and Canada as measured by sales and production volume.
Holcim has made 10 bolt-on acquisitions in the first half of 2025. The company will allocate 4 billion Swiss francs ($5 billion) to 6 billion Swiss francs through 2030 to strategic M&A and opportunistic share buybacks. M&A will be mostly comprised of bolt-ons, but the company will also consider larger deals.
In an interview, Chief Executive Officer Miljan Gutovic said he would like to end the year with 15-20 deals. He said there’s a good pipeline in Latin America, in particular one candidate that’s about half the size of Xella. “We do have some exciting opportunities in LatAm we are working on,” he said.
Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported Holcim could be interested in Cemex SAB’s Colombian operations.
Xella, based in Duisburg, Germany, has projected 2025 net sales of around €1 billion and about 4,000 employees.
Lone Star, founded by billionaire John Grayken, bought Xella in 2017 from PAI Partners and the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for an undisclosed amount. Xella had 5,900 employees at the time; Bloomberg News reported in 2016 that PAI and Goldman Sachs were looking to fetch more than €2 billion for the company.
“For us this deal was a very, very good deal and it’s a buyer’s market,” said Gutovic.
Lone Star has established a track record in the past years of selling industrial assets to Swiss corporates. The buyout firm sold Swiss sealants supplier MBCC to Swiss chemicals firm Sika AG in 2023 in a €5.3 billion deal.
Holcim is set to enter new markets including Denmark, Norway and Sweden through the Xella acquisition. It expects cross-selling to increase its revenue, with walling solutions including adhesives, finishes, renders, and waterproofing.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to customary conditions and regulatory clearances, Holcim said in a statement. It’s expected to be value accretive from year one.
–With assistance from Fion Li.
(Updates with CEO comments from seventh paragraph.)
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