CRH has completed the final stage of a €6.5 billion acquisition deal with cement companies Lafarge and Holcim.

In August, the majority of the transaction was concluded in a move that made the Irish company the third largest building materials supplier in the world. Employment will increase by 15,000 to 93,000.

On Tuesday, it said the final aspect to the acquisition, operations based in the Philippines, had been concluded.

The group is partnering with Aboitiz Equity Ventures, the publicly listed holding and investment company of the Aboitiz Group with major investments in power, banking, food and land. Aboitiz announced yesterday that the two groups had raised their stake to 99.1 per cent following a tender offer.

The new acquisitions more than doubles CRH’s cement production volumes and will further expand its aggregates and ready-mixed concrete portfolios.

Total assets in the deal cover 685 locations across 11 countries including the largest cement producer in central Canada and major cement and aggregate operations in Great Britain, France and Germany.