BGC inks deal to sell off its cement division

The construction empire of late tycoon Len Buckeridge has confirmed the sale of its cementitious division to Cement Australia in a deal tipped to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The construction giant confirmed the sale on Wednesday, with the Queensland-based joint venture between Holcim and Heidelberg Materials snapping up an arm of the business that covers asphalt, cement, concrete, quarries, transport and the company’s Materials Technology Centre.

The sale of BGC’s cement division is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025.Credit:

A spokesperson for the company declined to divulge the value of the sale, but it was tipped to net up to $800 million.

Seven Group’s concrete maker Boral, controlled by media mogul Kerry Stokes, was among the prospective buyers, having flagged an interest in acquiring the business just three months ago.

The deal was a critical part of the Buckeridge Group of Companies’ divestment plan foreshadowed back in 2018, a process which stemmed from a row over the carve up of Buckeridge’s $2.5 billion estate.

BGC sold off its contracting arm 12 months later, with the sale of other assets having been put on ice and restarted on several occasions due to difficult economic conditions.

The company sold off its commercial building division to Buckeridge’s step-son turned company director Julian Ambrose in August.

The sale process for its cement division, which was initiated in July, is expected to complete in the second half of 2025.

On Wednesday, BGC chief executive Daniel Cooper said the sale was a positive move for the division’s employees, customers and other direct stakeholders, with the new owner natural compatible fit for its existing operation.

BGC retains a significant business of about 1000 employees, across its residential construction and building products division.

But the business has been beset by challenges recently, losing its title as the state’s biggest builder in 2023 after putting the brakes on new homes builds to address a backlog of pandemic-era projects.

It has also been forced to fend off a $100 million class action levelled against three of its Housing Group entities by customers with delayed home builds while negotiating a settlement with Iplex Australia to fix leaking pipes.

The company has previously blamed the government’s pandemic-era hand-outs for creating a “profitless boom”, marred by a string of high-profile company collapses amid spikes in demand for materials and tradespeople while supply chains were strained and borders shut.

Architect-turned-construction magnate Len Buckeridge founded the construction giant back in 1959, leading the integrated company until his death in 2014.

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